Researched Argument Third Draft

Index of Templates from They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein.

Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable

While I understand the impulse to ______, my own view is _______.

While I agree with X that _______, I cannot accept her overall conclusion that ______.

While X argues ________, and I argue ________, in a way we’re both right.

The Template of Templates

In recent discussions of _________, a controversial issue has been whether _________. On the one hand, some argue that _________. From this perspective, ________. On the other hand, however, others argue that ________. In the words of _______, one of this view’s main proponents, “________.” According to this view, ________. In sum, then, the issue is whether ________ or ________.

Introducing What They Say

· A number of sociologists have recently suggested that X’s work has several fundamental problems.

· It has become common today to dismiss X’s contribution to the field of sociology.

· In their recent work, Y and Z have offered harsh critiques of Dr. X for _____.

Introducing Standard Views

· American today tend to believe that _____

· Conventional wisdom has it that _____

· Common sense seems to dictate that _____

· The standard way of thinking about topic X has it that _____

· It is often said that _____

· My whole life I have heard it said that _____

· You would think that _____

· Many people assumed that _____

Making What They Say Something You Say

· I’ve always believed that _____

· When I was a child, I used to think that _____

· Although I should know better by now, I cannot help thinking that _____

· At the same time that I believe _____, I also believe _____

Introducing Something Implied or Assumed

· Although none of them have ever said so directly, my teachers have often given me the impression that _____

· One implication of X’s treatment of ____ is that _____

· Although X does not say so directly, she apparently assumes that _____

· While they rarely admit as much, _____ often take for granted that _____

Introducing an Ongoing Debate

· In discussions of X, one controversial issue has been _____. On the other hand, ____ argues _____. On the other hand, ____ contends ____. Others even maintain _____. My own view is _____.

· 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 _____. Whereas some are convinced that _____, others maintain that _____.

· In conclusion, then, defenders of _____ can’t have it both ways. Their assertion that _____ is contradicted by their claim that _____.

Capturing 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 conceded that _____

· X demonstrates that _____

· X deplores the tendency to ____

· X celebrates the fact that _____

· X emphasizes that _____

· X insists that _____

· X observes that _____

· X questions whether _____

· X refutes the claim that _____

· X reminds us that _____

· X suggests that _____

· X urges us to _____

Introducing Quotations

· X states, “_____.”

· As the prominent philosopher X puts it, “_____.”

· According to X, “_____.”

· X himself writes, “_____.”

· In her book, _____, X maintains that “_____.”

· Writing in the journal Commentary, X complains that “_____.”

· In X’s view, “_____.”

· X agrees/disagrees when she writes, “_____.”

· X complicates matters further when he writes, “_____.”

Explaining 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 _____

Disagreeing, with Reasons

· I think X is mistaken because she overlooks _____

· X’s claim that _____ rests upon the questionable assumption that _____.

· I disagree with X’s view that _____ because, as recent research has show, _____

· X contradicts herself /can’t have it both ways. On the one hand, she argues ____, but on the other hand, she also says _____

· By focusing on _____, X overlooks the deeper problem of _____

· X claims _____, but we don’t need him to tell us that. Anyone familiar with ___ has long know that _____

Agreeing – with a Difference

· I agree that _____ because my experience confirms it.

· X surely is right about _____ because, as she may not be aware, recent studies have shown that _____.

· X’s theory of _____ is extremely useful because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of _____

· I agree that ____, a point that needs emphasizing since so many people believe _____

· Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interested to know that it basically boils down to _____

· If group X is right that _____, as I think they are, then we need to reassess the popular assumption that _____

Agreeing and Disagreeing Simultaneously

· Although I agree with X up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that _____

· Although I disagree with much that X says, I fully endorse his final conclusion that _____

· Though I concede that _____, I still insist that _____

· Whereas X provides ample evidence that ____, Y and Z’s research on ____ and ____ convinces me that _____ instead.

· X is right that ____, but she seems on more dubious ground when she claims that _____

· While X is probably wrong when she claims that _____, she is right that _____

· I’m of two minds about X’s claim that ____. On the one hand, I agree that _____. On the other hand, I’m not sure if _____

· My feelings on the issue are mixed. I do support X’s positions that _____, but I find Y’s argument about ____ and Z’s research on _____ to be equally persuasive.

Signaling Who Is Saying What

· X argues _____

· According to both X and Y, _____

· Politicians _____, X argues, should _____

· Most athletes will tell you that _____

· My own view, however, is that _____

· I agree, as X may not realize, that _____, but _____ are real and, arguably, the most significant factor in _____

· However X is wrong that _____

· However, it is simply not true that _____

· Indeed, it is highly likely that _____

· Nonetheless, the view that ____ does not fit all the facts.

· X is right that ____

· X is wrong that

· X is both right and wrong that _____

· A sober analysis of the matter reveals _____

· Nevertheless, new research shows _____

· Anyone familiar with ____ should see that _____

Embedding Voice Markers

· X overlooks what I consider an important point about _____

· My own view is that what X insists is a ____ is in fact a _____

· I wholeheartedly endorse what X calls _____

· These conclusions, which X discusses in _____, add weight to the argument that _____

Entertaining Objections

· At this point, I would like to raise some objections that have been inspired by the skeptic in me. She feels that I have been ignoring _____., “_____,” she says to me, “_____.”

· Thus far some readers may challenge the view that _____. After all, many believe ____. Indeed, my own argument that ___ seems to ignore ____ and ____

· Of course, many will probably disagree with the assertion that _____

Naming Your Nay Sayers

· Here many feminists would probably object that _____

· However social Darwinists would certainly take issue with the argument that _____

· Biologists, of course, may want to dispute my claim that _____

· Nevertheless, both followers and critics of Malcom X will probably argue that _____

· Although not all Christians think alike, some of them will probably dispute my claim that _____

· Non-native English speakers are so diverse in their views that it’s hard to generalize about them, but some are likely to object on the grounds that _____

Introducing Objections Informally

· However, is my proposal realistic? What are the chances of its actually being adopted?

· Is it always true that _____? Is it always the case that _____?

· However, does the evidence cited prove conclusively that _____?

Making Concessions while Still Standing Your Ground

· Although I grant that _____, I still maintain that _____

· Proponents of X are right to argue that _____, but they exaggerate when they claim that _____

· While it is true that ____, it does not necessarily follow that _____

· On the one hand, I agree with X that _____, but on the other hand, I still insist that _____

Indicating Who Cares

· _____used to think _____, but recently / within the past few decades ____ suggests that _____

· What his new research does, then, is correct the mistaken impression, held by many earlier researchers, that _____

· These finding challenge the work of earlier researchers, who tended to assume that ____

· Recent studies like these shed new light on ____, which previous studies had not addressed.

· Researchers have long assumed that ____. For instance, one eminent scholar of cell biology, ____ assumed in _____, her seminal work on cell structures and functions, that fate cells ____. As ____ herself put it, “_____.” Another leading scientist, _____, argued that fat cells “_____.” Ultimately, when it came to the nature of fat, the basic assumption was that ____, but a new body of research shows that fat cells are far more complex and that ____

· If sports enthusiasts stopped to think about it, any of them might simply assume that the most successful athletes ____. However, new research shows _____.

· These findings challenge dieters’ common assumptions that ____

· At first glance, teenagers appear to ____, but on closer inspection _____

Establishing Why Your Claims Matter

· X matters/is important because _____

· Although X may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of today’s concern over ____

· Ultimately, what is at stake here is _____

· These findings have important consequences for the broader domain of _____

· My discussion of X is in fact addressing the larger matter of _____

· These conclusions / This discovery will have significant application in ____ as well as in ____

· Although X may seem of concern to only a small group of ____, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about _____

Adding Metacommentary

· In other words, _____

· What ____ really means by this is _____

· My point is _____

· Essentially, I am arguing that _____

· My point is not that we should ____, but that we should _____

· What ____ really means is ____

· In other words, _____

· To put it another way, _____

· In sum, then, _____

· My conclusion, then is that, _____

· In short, _____

· What is more important, _____

· Incidentally, _____

· By the way, _____

· Chapter two explores _____, while Chapter three examines _____

Commonly Used Transitions

· Cause and Effect

Accordingly since

As a result so

Consequently then

Hence therefore

It follows, then thus

· Conclusion

As a result so

Consequently the upshot of all this is that

Hence therefore

In conclusion, then thus

In short to sum up

In sum, then to summarize

It follows, then

· Comparison

Along the same line likewise

In the same way similarly

· Contrast

Although nevertheless

But nonetheless

By contrast on the contrary

Conversely on the other hand

Despite the fact that regardless

Even though whereas

However while

In contrast yet

· Addition

Also in fact

And indeed

Besides moreover

Furthermore so too

In addition

· Concession

Admittedly of course

Although it is true that naturally

Granted to be sure

I concede that

· Example

After all for instance

As an illustration specifically

Consider to take/taking a case in point

For example

· Elaboration

Actually to put it another way

By extension to put it bluntly

In short to put it succinctly

That is ultimately

In other words