Writing Templates They Say I Say

Writing Templates from They Say, I Say With Readings (2009), eds. Graff, Birkenstein, and Durst

To capture authorial action…
X acknowledges that…
X agrees that…
X argues that…
X believes that…
X denies/ does not deny that…
X claims that…
X complains that…
X concedes that…
X demonstrates that…
X deplores the tendency to…
X celebrates the fact that…
X emphasizes that…
X insists that…
X observes that…
X contends that…
X questions whether…
X refutes the claim that…
X reminds us that…
X reports that…
X suggests that…
X urges us to…

To introduce an ongoing debate…
In discussions of X, one controversial issue has been _____________. On the one hand, __________ argues that ____________. On the other hand, __________ contends that _____________. Others maintain that ___________. My own view is that _______.
When it comes to the topic of ___________, most of us will readily agree that __________. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether ____________. Whereas some are convinced that __________, others maintain that ___________.
In conclusion, then, as I suggested earlier, defenders of ____________ can’t have it both ways. Their assertion that __________ is contradicted by their claim that
__________.

To introduce quotations…
X states, “_____________.”
According to X, “______________.”
In her book, _____________, X maintains that “________________.”
In X’s view, “__________________.”
X agrees when she writes, “_________________.”
X disagrees when he writes, “___________________.”
X complicates matters further when he writes, “___________________.”

To explain quotations…
Basically, X is saying ____________________.
In other words, X believes ______________________.
In making this comment, X argues that _____________________.
X is insisting that _________________________.
X’s point is that ___________________________.
The essence of X’s argument is that _______________________.

To disagree, with reasons…