Journal #7

In this chapter of They Say, I Say, the authors focused on the importance of starting your writing by describing what others are saying about the topic you are writing about. As mentioned previously in the book, writers need to have a clearly stated thesis in order to make the piece have meaning, and to guide the readers into being engaged in the text. Most importantly, writers need to present their claim early on in the piece, then proceed to back it up with evidence. By leaving the thesis for later in the essay, readers will wonder what the point of half the essay is before they arrive at it. By distinctly explaining your thesis in the beginning, readers will be involved in the writing from introduction to conclusion. The authors also described the importance of having both your thesis and the contradicting point you bring up to be concise. If the debates on the topic against your own are too long, it will distract from your claim. However, you do need to include this contradictory idea, whether it was your own idea in the past, an assumed or implied idea in society, or a debate that has two or more viewpoints. This will demonstrate that you have done your research on the topic, and you know the material that you are writing about, which makes the reader more willing to hear your claim. Also, I found it was a helpful bit of advice to keep bringing up the conflicting ideas to remind the reader why you are writing about the topic, all throughout the piece. This will sustain your mission of responding to a claim and keep the reader engaged in the topic for the entire essay.