SUNY Geneseo Department of Computer Science

Connecting Writing to Context

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Connecting Writing to Context

They Say, I Say chapter 7

• Don’t assume reader knows why your claims are important, even if audience ought to know
•  “So what?”
  • Connect to other ideas “known” to be important
• “Who cares?”
  • Connect to larger conversation
  • Specific people or groups
• Where in a piece of writing can you do these things?
  • Introduction: tell reader why they’re reading this
  • Conclusion: tell reader why they read this
    • Show where reader can go from here, broader implications

Look at some example from TSIS; have the authors addressed these connections?

• “Don’t Blame the Eater” essay
  • “Problem is all of ours’” - who should care
  • Diabetes rates, costs - why people should care
  • “Without warnings, more obese children & angry parents” -- why we should care
  • Fast-food industry is at risk - who
  • But notice that these things happen mostly in the middle of the essay, not clearly in introduction or conclusion
• Preface to 2nd edition
  • Look at it, discuss in groups whether it addresses “who cares” and “so what,” and write conclusions in about 1 paragraph
  • Group 1: In the Preface to the Second Edition, we found that the writer addressed the questions of “who cares?” and “so what?”. “Who cares” was addressed when it was mentioned that they had spoken with “many students and instructors who had praised the work and challenged it.” There was also mention of intent for the book to be used in “first year writing courses.” In terms of addressing the “so what?”, we found that the writer’s attempt to answer this question addressed the importance of argumentative writing as students, but failed to show it’s importance beyond the classroom. We suggest to the author to try and incorporate how writing can apply to life on a broader spectrum, and to focus less on the promotion of their book in the preface.
  • Group 2: The authors accurately use the concepts of incorporating the questions “So what?” and “Who cares” into the Preface to the 2nd Edition. They explicitly state that they intend this book for first-year students at colleges and universities. They also include that students in other disciplines can apply these concepts and ideas into their work. The authors incorporate the question “So what?” by stating “these chapters adapt our templates to help students with the specific demands of writing in those fields.” The purpose of the second edition is also included in the preface. For example, they believe the second edition was necessary because it is now easier to use, applies to more disciplines, and can help students improve their writing.
  • Group 3: The who cares that it was originally intended for first year students but since it has been published it has been used in many different ways. this was explicitly stated in the 3rd paragraph. the so what part of the preface is that the book has evolved from the feedback that they received when they were traveling the country for the book.
  • Group 4: The preface does not do a good job explaining to the reader why they should care about the things in the book. There are many arguments as to why the book was written such as the goal that the authors stated “…to demystify academic writing and reading by identifying the key moves of persuasive argument and representing these moves in forms that students can put into practice.”.  The authors do a good job stating who cares however, as seen in the sentence “Though we originally intended it for use in first year writing courses, we are delighted to find that it is being taught in many other courses and disciplines across the curriculum...”
  • Group 5: The authors succeed in discussing the importance of this book in the preface. He mentions who would find this work important, indicating that the book can be used for a wide-variety of courses, not simply for first-year writing seminars. Additionally, some of the text tries to relate with its readers, including likely college students and professors, by indicating that their thoughts, concerns and critiques were taken into consideration; a later paragraph explains how they addressed such concerns. The introduction describes the purpose of the book, and why it was written, describing the authors’ motivations. In the conclusion, the authors end by reiterating the overall goal of the book.
  • All groups agree that who should care is clear from the people the preface mentions as motivating or benefitting from the revision. But notice that here again it doesn’t have to be done in introduction or conclusion
  • Groups are split on whether the preface addresses why the book matters. But note that saying why the authors did a revision is not the same as saying why the book is important to others—so maybe they don’t do such a good job of addressing this.

Breaking the Code Essay

Handout

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Reading in depth

Find a part of Breaking the Code that makes you wonder why it’s there