PB2B-Moves

Moves from They Say, I Say Appendix

“Introducing Quotations”: Dirk uses this move in his writing by including direct quotes from different references that he believes will enhance his own writing. Dirk uses phrases to introduce another opinion or point of view from a different author. For example, he has written, “Devitt writes that:” (252), “Lloyd Bitzer wrote the following:” (251). By introducing a different author, it shows the reader that the original author of the text has put time into his/her work and has found outside sources that bolster their argument.

“Arguing Who is Saying What”: Another move that Dirk utilizes before referencing outside information is by introducing the Author first. For example, Dirk starts sentences with phrases like “Carolyn Miller, a leading professor in the field of technical communications, argues that…” or “Devitt argues that…” to mention another person’s viewpoints on the subject matter that he is presenting to enhance his own argument. This move is done at the beginning of a sentence so that the information sticks in the reader's mind that what they are about to read is coming from someone else, not the original author himself. Like Bunn said, it is integral for a writer to include pieces of information that will stick out in the readers more than other points, and by introducing the referenced author first, it accomplishes that task.

“Explaining Quotations”: Most authors explain references they make to other texts immediately following the reference. In the “Explain That” move, Dirk follows each of his quotes with a phrase that leads into him explaining and analyzing exactly what the quote means in relation to his writing. For example, Dirk writes, “In other words, Miller is saying that…”(254) and “In other words, Bitzer is saying that…”(252). This introductory phrase gives a didactic tone to his writing and signals to the author that he is about to summarize the quote and relate it back to the main point of the material all while providing his own analysis.

“Adding Metacommentary”: Dirk uses conclusory phrases such as “in sum…”(259) and “In other words…”(254) to summarize an argument that he was just making. This move is used to restate previous points as well as making sure that the reader knows the big picture and the main argument of the whole text. By bringing each argument back to its relevance within the work refocuses the reader's attention.

“Making Concessions While Still Standing Your Ground Move”: Each argument has a counter argument or else it would not pass the arguability test. Dirk uses this move to address a potential counter argument and blow it up right in the reader’s face to leave no doubt as to who really is right. For example, Dirk used this move when he wrote, “That is, of course, not to say that there aren’t rules that come with genres: the difference is that the rules change as the genre changes, and that no rules apply to all genres…”(258). This move is used here to quickly introduce a counter argument while immediately after discrediting it to enhance his own argument. Truly a classic writing move.

Other Moves

“The Close Your Eyes and Imagine”: Dirk uses his own move, which I named properly, to put the reader in an alternative state where they imagine different time settings. For example, Dirk writes, “Think about George Washington giving the first State of the Union Address”(252) or “Think about a time when you were asked to write a research paper”(255). Dirk utilizes this move to make the author think about a point that he is trying to make. By referencing a certain time/place, this can evoke a greater response by the reader because that time/place usually contains a greater meaning to the reader, which is why it was selected by the author in the first place.

“The Trust Me, This matters”: During this move, Dirk explains why the things he has just previously said are important. For example, he adds questions such as, “Why am I picking the popular genres to discuss?”(254) and even more simply, “Why?”(255) He uses this move to provide support for his argument and explain his reasoning, all in doing so to make the argument stronger and to give it more support.

“The Oh Wait, I Forgot Something, JK it’s Right There”: In this move Dirk uses punctuation, more specifically dashes, to add more detail to his argument. For example, he writes “... you have been participating in many different genres-- whether you are telling a joke…”(235) The use of dashes within the sentence allows this move to work, which clarifies points that are being made in the argument. The dashes also allow the author to be concise and keep the flow of the writing going.

“The Me, Myself, and I”: This move is utilized when Dirk uses the word “I” to explain what is going on in his own head. Dirk uses this move to give his writing a more personal and conversational tone. By using this tone, it makes the audience more susceptible to relate to his viewpoints.

“The You’ve Seen This Before”: Staying with the theme of a personal and conversational tone, Dirk uses this move to relate concepts to things that the audience has experienced before. For example, Dirk mentions that when people write facebook statuses they, “[recognize] the rhetorical situation of [our] action and choosing to act in a manner that would result in the desired outcome”(253) By using things the audience can directly relate to, the author hopes that his argument will become more applicable and they(the audience) will be able to understand it better because they have once experienced it.