Today's Prompt: They Say/I Say, Chapter One
The following is a list of arguments that lack a "they say"--any sense of who needs to hear these claims or who might think otherwise. These one-sided arguments fail to explain the view they are responding to--what view, in effect, they are trying to correct, add to, qualify, complicate, or so forth. Your job in this exercise is to provide each argument with such a counterview. Choose one of the following theses, and write an introductory paragraph for an argument in support of it. The introduction should include a representation of what "they say"--in other words a summary of the position against the thesis. Then go on to write a second paragraph in support of the thesis you have chosen. You may use any of the templates in Chapter One of They Say/I Say that you find helpful. Write your two paragraphs in the "Classroom Notebooks, Q1" document and label them with today's date and "TSIS, Chapter One."
- Our experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels of the chemical PFOA in Hoosick Falls, New York groundwater.
- The current presidential administration is bringing back American greatness.
- Gender is a social construct.
- The United States is the greatest country on earth.
- One should always tell the truth.