Learning Target: I can effectively use signal words to introduce and provide context for paraphrases and direct quotes.

Review Signal Words handout

Reading chapter 13 in Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Peer Reviews for those who did not get them yesterday

Regarding 1st and 3rd person.  Although these essays should be primarily in the 3rd person, some of you may have personal experiences/examples that would be appropriate and informative either in the intro or even in the body of the essay.  In such cases, you may use "I", but then switch back to 3rd person once you have completed using that anecdote. Sometimes we call this shifting from 1st back to third, the "I say/they say" point of view switch.

What about “I”?

Many students wonder whether they should use the pronoun “I” (that is, the first person) or not.  This can vary from instructor to instructor and your best bet is to check with the professor.  However, you will want to know that there are many ways to state your own opinion without actually using the pronoun “I.”  Here are some examples:

X is right that the US economy is transferring more and more of its wealth to the upper class.

The evidence shows that ______________________.

Y’s assertion that the new health care plan is a “government take over of health care” is at odds with the key provisions of the new legislation.

Anyone familiar with the traffic problems of LA should agree that _________________.

All of these templates—and many more—allow you to make a clear statement of your point of view without using “I.”  Even if your professor allows the use of the first person, it’s a good idea to use a mix of these templates and the first person to avoid the monotony of repeating over and over “I think,” “I believe,” etc.

The information in this handout was borrowed, adapted and greatly condensed from They Say, I Say: the Moves that Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, W. W. Norton, 2010.  This is an excellent textbook for anyone writing at the college level in any course and the Writing Center heartily recommends it. 

Homework: If you did not finish BBF chapter 13, finish it. Also, complete and print 2nd draft for tomorrow (we will be in the classroom). We will do peer reviews in class tomorrow.