Daniela Lopez Blog Post 12

If I were asked to guest lecture in the next section of this course, I would cover constructing a thesis using a They Say/ I Say Structure. I would teach this because I think it is vital for all writing. The biggest concept I learned in this class is that writing should be a conversation. One enters a conversation through their writing. In this way one can engage the audience, capturing their attention as if you were talking to them. A thesis constructed using a They say/ I say structure not only talks about common opinions on the subject matter, but it also responds to it, explaining why it is important that the reader read your paper.

To begin teaching this skill I would begin by explain the “they say” aspect in a thesis. I would explain that you must start with stating what others are saying, or summarizing. I would teach that the art of summarizing is stating the other person main points to either agree with them or rebuttal them. Here, I would teach that you can even include a quote of what “they say” and then further comment on it. I would further explain the second part of the thesis, the “I say” part. There are 3 ways you can respond: yes, no, or okay, but. From this one must include a “so what” factor, distinguishing what you are saying from what they are saying.  With these two aspects to a thesis one can engage the audience through writing as if they were entering a conversation.

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