"They Say I Say" Chapter Summaries

Ch. 4 - Chapter four pretty much tells the reader that there are three ways to respond in a paper: Agree, disagree, or some form of both. It goes on to explain that when you agree or disagree, you should ont just blatently and blandly do either. Offer some explanation for your choice. The last way, and often most common way to both agree and disagree is a good method to use if you are writing about something you dont have really strong views on.

Ch. 5 - Chapter five explains how to distinguish in your paper someting you are saying from someone elses views/words. "voice markers" can be used to help distinguish between perspectives and to tell whos opinioin is being expressed.

Ch. 6 - Chapter six talks about recognizing and acknowledging possible objections to the idea you are writing about in your paper. If you anticipate these possible objections, you can then address them and perhaps refute or at least just mention them in the paper, disarming critics of the element of surprise. By acknowledging these counter-arguments you come across as open minded as opposed to arrogant and stubborn. the chapter also tells the reader to be fair in your representation of objections. Dont just give them a short, shoddy, 1 sentence explanation in the paper. Also, answer the objection by supporting your side of the argument and by explaining more in depth than just saying that the other side is just straight up wrong.

Ch. 7 - Chapter seven talks about answering the questions "So what?" and "who cares?" in your paper. Just clearly stating your thesis and proposition is not enough. You must also incorporate a phrase or comment that indicates who should care about what you are writing about. You must always put in your paper why the topic you are arguing matters. The "so what?" The book suggests that often times the best way to do this is to appeal to something that your audience can be assumed to care about. It finishes the chapter by telling the reader that it is important to answer these questions in every paper you write, even if the so what and who cares seems really obvious.