They Say, I Say Exercises 1 & 2

Exercise #1
Many people view maturity as a person's higher mental and emotional capability. If someone was older, and wasn't acting their age, someone might say that they have have "a low maturity level". However, the dictionary defines maturity as being "the state, fact, or period of being mature", and mature means, "fully developed physically; fully grown." So on the contrary, when someone is not acting their age, their maturity levels are not lower, but their mental and emotional capabilities are lower. The difference is this, children and adults react to situations differently because of their life experiences. When a child loses a toy, their whole words is now in total caos, but when an adult loses "a toy" they do not throw themselves on the floor and wail until they get a new one, but even though they may be sad, they know that their world will continue to turn with or without that "toy". So even if a person's mental and emotional capabilities are lower, and they act in a way that is not their age, it is not because their maturity leves are low, but that they just are not acting their age.

I don't know id that made any sense! haha :) I hope you enjoyed earning about the differences between maturity and mental and emotional capabili... "wait, you lost me at 'i hope'"... haha :) have a great summer everybody!

Exercise #2

In the Introduction to "They Say/I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein provide templates designed to help students not only write better essays, but to help them take their opinions and form it into an argument, easily. As the authors themselves put it, "In our view, the above template and the others in this book will actually help your writing become more original and creative, not less". Although some people believe that when you give students a formula to follow, it takes out any real thought and creativity, Graff and Birkenstein insist that their formulas are there to assist the students, so that one day, they can leave the nest and fly on their own easily and affectively. In sum, then, their view is that the templates are there so that the student learns HOW to take their ideas and opinions and formulate them such that the reader can affectively convey what they need to.

I agree with Mr. Graff and Miss Birkenstein. In my view, the types of templates that the authors recommend are applicable and easy to use. For instance, in this essay I used their template so that I could better understand their method, and in using this template, I find that I can understand my opinion better because the template not only helped the reader understand, but also me as the writer. In addition, this template makes my opinion better formulated, better understood, and easier to write. Some might object, of course, on the grounds that I am just copying the template, and that I am not really using my brain to write this. Yet I would argue that I am still conveying my opinion, but in a better, understandable way to the reader, and to myself. Overall, then, I believe that these templates will be of great use not only to me, but also my peers and fellow users.

The End.

:) Yeah! I got to pull out my Big Girl Words! haha