Reading Response: "They say, I say" pg. 20-22

The authors’ of They Say, I Say believe that when constructing an argument, orally or in writing, a person should first start with “what others are saying” and then respond to this with their own ideas. The authors suggest that when doing this, the person constructing an argument should summarize what the others say as soon as possible and remind the readers or listeners of it at strategic points as they go along. The authors argue that by constructing this style of argument you a person is giving their audience a quick preview of what they are arguing, and not just drowning the audience in details right away. This advice of the authors somewhat contradicts the common advice given to writers, which is the idea that writers should start with their own thesis or claim. The authors acknowledge this contradiction and respond to it in two ways: First
they agree with the idea that a person making an argument shouldn’t keep the audience in suspense to long about their central argument, and second, they offer their belief that a person needs to present his or her argument in a larger conversation format by indicating others arguments that they are either supporting, opposing, complicating, amending, or qualifying.

I mostly agree with the authors suggested style of constructing an argument. I believe that by constructing an argument in such style an individual informs the audience of what they are arguing and why they are making such an argument, as well as engaging the audience into their argument. When someone starts with “boring details”, as the authors put it, they run the risk of losing the audience’s attention. By this I mean that the audience starts to grow restless because you are presenting them with things they already know but no reason for presenting them. Audience’s attention and focus is essential to an argument because without it a conversation can become dead-end and lose its whole purpose, which is offering ideas that stir debates.

One thing that I think the authors should have harped on when suggesting this type of construction of an argument is that the individual who is constructing the argument should prevent from focusing too much attention on what others say and forgetting to offer their own ideas, which is often the case when arguments take place. Most of the time people get caught up in addressing the issues of others and not furthering the debate or argument.

I also liked how the authors took somewhat of a step-back from their approach as being the primary approach to constructing an argument by identifying other ways to construct an argument. Some other styles that they mentioned included starting with an illustrative quotation, a revealing fact or statistic, and a relevant anecdote. I like that the authors did this because everyone argues in different ways which is what makes arguments unique and informative; my approach to arguing might be different than someone else’s. That one approach might not benefit everyone the same and it could do more harm to people’s arguments then good.