They Say

Starting with What Others Are Saying

Templates for Introducing What “They Say”
· A number of sociologists have recently suggested that X’s work has several fundamental problems.
· It has become common today to dismiss X’s contribution to the field of sociology.
· In their recent work, Y and Z have offered harsh critiques of Dr. X for ______ .

Templates for Introducing “Standard Veiws”
· Americans today tend to believe that ______.
· Conventional wisdom has it that ______.
· Common sense seems to dictate that ______.
· The standard way of thinking about topic X has it that ______.
· It is often said that ______.
· My whole life I have heard it said that ______.
· You would think that ______.
· Many people assume that ______.

Templates for Making What “They Say” Something You Say
· I’ve always believed that ______.
· When I was a child, I used to think that ______.
· Although I should know better by now, I cannot help thinking that ______.
· At the same time that I believe ______, I also believe ______.

Templates for Introducing Something Implied or Assumed
· Although none of them have ever said so directly, my teachers have often given me the impression that ______.
· One implication of X’s treatment of ______ is that ______.
· Although X does not say so directly, she apparently assumes that ______.
· While they rarely admit as much, ______ often take for granted that ______.

Templates for Introducing an Ongoing Debate
· In discussion of X, one controversial issue has been ______. On the one hand, ______ argues ______. On the other hand, ______ contends ______. Others even maintain ______. My own view is ______.
· When it comes to the topic of ______, most of us will readily agree that ______. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of ______. Whereas some are convinced that ______, others maintain that ______.

Keep What “They Say” in View
· In conclusion, then, as I suggested earlier, defenders of ______ can’t have it both ways. Their assertion that ______ is contradicted by their claim that ______.