They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff? T

[LNC]

I'm thinking of making a change next year from WWS to this. I LOVE WWS, it is my first choice and I will purchase it each year to have for my son!! She is in 7th and I would consider still using WWS except the situation of waiting until Dec. to get a hardcopy is getting to me. It is just so much easier to work with a hardcopy for me...

 

I would combine instruction from the New Oxford Book of Writing, The Lively Art of Writing and SWB's newest rec They Say I Say... I would be missing out on the WWS rubrics and day by day schedule...

 

I don't know, she also seems ready for more than 1-level outlines at her age. She read through all my schoolwork from middle school and saw my extensive outlines and research papers. She always assumed public school middle schoolers were assigned creative writing like they are around here. But, once she saw what I was doing in 7th, she wants to move along and stretch herself... Any thoughts?

 

http://www.amazon.com/They-Say-Matter-Academic-Writing/dp/039393361X

[Another Lynn]

:lurk5: :bigear:

[Kalmia]

I had an opportunity to look at :They Say, I Say, the original edition, and was underwhelmed. It appears to address a single concept in academic writing: how smoothly transition between expert opinion (from your research) and your own. Unless the second edition is significantly expanded to include actual step-by-step writing instruction like WWS (which I doubt was the intent of the book), there is no way I'd choose it. In fact, it was so not applicable to my 6th grader's work, I wouldn't use it at all until, maybe, high school.

 

I'd stick with WWS. Certainly, SWB recommended They Say, I Say merely as a supplement not a substitute (and for high school not middle school). Take WWS (or another formal writing curriculum) and proceed at your child's pace. WWS is a modern version of the classical writing sequence that has worked for so many on these boards (think: Classical Writing; Lost Tools of Writing, etc.).

 

If you think she has already progressed beyond WWS (which is for 5th grade) and want a classical sequence in writing instruction, you might be better off ordering an inexpensive used copy of Winifred Bryan Horner's Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition. It is like Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, which SWB recommends for high school, but significantly easier to read.

 

p.s. If she's ready for full outlining, just assign that task no matter what the directions say. :-)

Edited December 20, 2011 by Kalmia

[Capt_Uhura]

Both my friend and I were underwhelmed by They Say I Say. However, the month after I bought it, Amazon released the new edition which was over twice the page numbers of the old. THe samples were the good part of the book. I think the book is about one aspect of writing - how to handle when you disagree with someone else's point. You wouldn't use this in place of complete writing instruction. Perhaps SWB saw something in it that we're missing. Will I buy it again? Probably but not for some time. When you get it, please post your insight. Perhaps we missed something.

 

ah LOL I see she beat me too it!

[Dana]

I also read a board for college instructors. They Say, I Say is recommended there for many comp students.

 

I haven't bought it yet, but it's on my musts list for high school.

[Jane Elliot]

I've read They Say/I Say (first ed.) cover to cover, and two of my dc have used it in high school. I think it's brilliant, but I agree it's definitely high school, not middle school level, and it needs to be a supplement, not the whole curriculum, because it addresses only some aspects of academic writing. (ETA: I understand that the OP clearly wasn't intending to use it as a stand alone.) I think it's a fabulous resource and all my dc will be using this in high school.

 

Several of my dc have used and benefited from The New Oxford Guide to Writing. Again, I think this is a high school level book, (ETA) although an advanced 7th grader could probably benefit from it if she had assistance. Really, both these texts are typically used in college but are well-suited for the high school level homeschool setting.

 

I've only skimmed Lively Art of Writing, but to me it did look like something that could work for middle school level.

 

If I had a middle school child who was not challenged by WWS, I think I'd speed it up. Then when we finished WWS, Level 1, I'd restudy WTM logic stage chapters and listen to the middle school writing CD again to ramp it up. Writing Strands would be worth looking at as a supplement if you are wanting more variety.

Edited December 22, 2011 by Luann in ID

[4littleones]

I have just received the latest edition. I didn't have a good look at it yet, and my children are young, so I am not planning to use it anytime soon. The actual writing instruction is probably 1/3 of the book. The other 2/3 are articles you can read and do some exercises - a useful feature.

[Capt_Uhura]

4Littleones - When you have a chance, can you tell us more about the articles and the exercises? That's what I'm interested in.