They Say I Say 6

 1. In the passage by Julie Charlip, she distinguishes her ideas from those of others in many ways. In the first paragraph, Charlie quotes and idea from Marx and Engels to show that the statement is not her own idea. Shortly after the quotation, Charlip says, "if only that were true, things might be more simple." If Charlip were in favor of the idea she quoted, she wouldn't have said that it was a false statement. Another way that Charlip disassociates her ideas from the ideas of others is, in the second paragraph, Charlip uses an idea from a sociology professor. She doesn't put his idea in quotation marks, rather she clearly states that the statement is not her idea by saying things like "he said" or "his definition." Finally, Charlip clearly states her ideas on class in the third paragraph. She starts by stating that many Americans, including her father would call themselves middle class, but she doesn't feel the same way. In fact, Charlip states, "But I always felt that we were in some no man's land, suspended between classes." Charlip is able to portray her difference in ideas using the "but." This seemingly meaningless word shows that Charlip contradicts the ideas of other Americans, they are not what she says.

2.  I used an article that I wrote on the issue of single-sex vs. coed schooling. In my first paragraph I state the ideas of people in favor of single-sex schooling and then I use "while" in order to show my ideas. The use of while allows me to lead into my ideas and show the audience that the previous ideas were good, but not the best. If I had agreed with the previous ideas, I wouldn't have tried to disprove them or show that they aren't the best facts. In this paragraph, I also could have used the word "but" to show that I have another idea that is more beneficial than the previous ones about the benefits of single-sex education. In my second paragraph, I begin with another idea of single sex supporters, saying, "single sex supporters claim that males and females have biological learning differences. They say that due to these differences, males and females should be taught differently." I show the audience that these are not my own ideas by specifically saying 'they say' and stating who says the idea (single-sex supporters). After I state the full idea of single sex supporters, I use the words 'however' and 'rather' to lead into my own points and also disprove the single-sex supporter's ideas. Also, to further show the audience that the previous thoughts are not mine, I use quotations around what 'they say.' I continue to use this pattern for the remainder of my article, stating what 'they say' and then using words such as 'however,' 'in fact,' or 'rather' to disprove the points. Instead of using these words over and over again throughout my essay, I could have also used the word 'but' or phrases like 'this idea is not the most reliable.' In addition, I could have used a template from the "They Say, I Say" book, saying, "single sex supporters' assertion that females and males are taught differently does not fit the facts." I would revise my article to have more variety in these words and phrases to make the writing more interesting.