Writing Homework Help

Ways to Respond:

There are many ways to respond to what someone has said, but the three basic ways to do so are to agree, disagree, or both (agree on some points and disagree on others).

I want you to read chapter four out of book titled They Say I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein The tile of chapter four is “‘Yes/No/ Okay, But’ : Three Ways to Respond.” Within the chapter, the authors will explain each response method, and they’ll give you some helpful templates that you can use in your own responses. 

The chapter begins on page 55 and is 12 pages long. You don’t have to complete the exercises at the end of the chapter. 

Now that we’ve read a little about responses, I want you to think about your own life and tell us about a time when you’ve responded to someone or to a group/business. 

Write your response to the following questions and comment on at least one (1) other student’s post. 

1. What are your thoughts on Graff and Birkenstein’s information in chapter 4 of They Say I Say
2. Give us at least three things you learned from this chapter.
3. Have you ever written a response letter?
4. Have you ever written a social media post to a person/group in response to something they’ve said or to a policy they’ve enacted?
5. Have you ever wanted to respond to a person/group but maybe didn’t know how to go about it, or didn’t want to stir the pot?

Reply to one

Ariel Ledezma

1. The information given in chapter 4 is, in my opinion, an incredibly in-depth analyzation of the art of response. I learned that it is okay for an individual to declare both support and criticism in academic writing (or an official published response). I have never seen such a response to any type of statement (that I can recall). I also learned “that the more complex and subtle your argument is, and the more it departs from the conventional ways people think, the more your readers will need to be able to place it on their mental map in order to process the complex details you present” (57). I have never thought about interpretation of one’s opinion in this way. I thought that we, as readers, dissect each sentence as we read. I did not know that we could interpret pieces of writing in such complex, mapped-out ways. I also learned that I have read writings containing undecidedness, and I did not even realize it. The text states that it is okay to respond to a written opinion with uncertainty, and I realized that I have read such responses in articles discussing topics such as politics and health crises.

2. I have never written a response letter. I hope that by writing one in this class, I will learn techniques that will enhance my abilities as a writer.

3. I have written many social media posts in response to an opinion/policy. I am very open about my opinions on social media (regarding social, political, religious, and scientific topics)and often share my criticisms/opinions to my family and friends online. I post my opinions on my online stories for followers to see, and occasionally leave comments on other’s posts.

4. There have been many times in which I wanted to respond to someone, but did not do so in order to maintain peace. Many of my own family members have expressed opinions that I so badly wanted to discuss, but decided against doing so for the sake of maintaining a healthy relationship (not for me, but for my parents. I could care less).

Tara Assef

I thought that this chapter was very insightful, and I knew a lot of what was being said. However, there was also a lot of knowledgeable information that opened my eyes.

The first thing I learned from this chapter is when the authors stated that “what these students came to realize is that good arguments are based not on knowledge that only a special class of experts has access to, but on everyday habits of mind that can be so isolated, and used by almost anyone” (Graff and Birkenstein 55/56). I found this statement to be very important because a lot of people feel discouraged about speaking on certain topics due to very opinionated people and experts thinking that if you are not an “expert” or do not know every single fact there is then you should not speak about it. But I completely disagree with that type of mentality because regardless if you don’t know everything or if you do know everything, you gain more knowledge and insight that you might not have known about through conversation. Another statement that I learned from is that “the most interesting interpretations in fact tend to be those that agree, disagree, or both—that instead of being offered solo, the best interpretations take strong stands relative to other interpretations” (Graff and Birkenstein 58). I find this to be so true because the best discussions are made when everyone has differing opinions. For instance, if everyone has the same opinion then the discussion just ends there. Whereas, if one person agrees, another person disagrees, and another person agrees and disagrees then you are open to much larger discussion and you are able to hear everyone’s side of things that you might not have thought about previously. Lastly, I learned from the statement “As much as we understand such fears of conflict and have experienced them ourselves, we nevertheless believe it is better to state our disagreements in frank yet considerate ways than to deny them… disagreements do no need to take the form of personal put-downs” (Graff and Birkenstein 61). Many people choose to be on the same side whether it is to agree or disagree with the topic based on what everyone else is saying, even if they have a different opinion, to avoid conflict. However, people should not fear what someone else might say about their own opinion. A personal opinion is not a “personal put-down”, and they should not be downgraded just because someone else might disagree with what you have to say.

Yes, I have written a response letter many times. Something as minor as responding to what someone has said in the past, or deciding what to eat, or even something more controversial like a more recent event of Simone Biles withdrawing herself from the Women’s US gymnastics team final.

This past year, I really educated myself on the issues surrounding Palestine and Israel. I read social media posts, read articles, watched youtube videos, watched the news, etc. As I became more educated on the topic, I wanted to express my support for Palestine and share my thoughts through my social media account. I was reposting things on my Instagram to not only show people what is happening, but also make people aware of the issues. I was seeing a lot of posts for the opposing side, and that made me want to educate myself and others even more.

Yes, I have wanted to respond to numerous people throughout my life but have wanted to avoid a potential argument. As I continued to post about the issues going on in Palestine and to the innocent people, some people in support of Israel started responding to my posts. I had a couple of discussions with a few people, sharing opinions and views trying to understand what the other thought. I do not try to start arguments with people in regards to issues like these because at the end of the day everyone has their own opinions and feelings. It is hard to have a discussion with others who are not open to hearing someone else’s side, therefore, I just ended the conversation because I knew going back and forth with someone that was close-minded would just be pointless. I believe that it is very important when discussing topics such as these that we should be able to hear everyone’s side and try to understand where they are coming from without attacking one another.