Response to THEY SAY/I SAY

I have mixed feelings regarding the use of templates. I like the whole idea of having students use templates; they will be able to join the “academic sphere” because their writing will sound more effective. On the contrary, I do not view the templates to be as effective as Graff and Birkenstein believe them to be mainly because I believe that the templates take away from a students learning experience: students lose their own voice, they are relying on someone else’s words to fall back on, and their using someone else’s train of thoughts. They aren’t learning how to articulate language on their own. Writing is a process; one will go through many stages before the individual becomes an effective writer. When I become a college professor, I want to see my students make mistakes I want to see them at their worst, because this will help them arrive at the best stage of writing. I do not want to provide them with templates that are useful for a short period of time. I want to help my students learn to use their own voice, their own train of thoughts, and learn to articulate language on their own rather than relying on templates for help. In short, I want to provide my students with a learning tool that they can use throughout their college years and after words as well. As a student, I couldn’t imagine using templates. I eventually use them if I was forced to, but much rather prefer using my own voice to express what I have to stay. I realize that my writing may not sound “academic” but I am in the learning process which means the more mistakes I make the more I am learning. Templates may be very useful for first year students such as freshmens because they need the push. They need the templates to fall back on.
Inclosing, I oppose to Graff and Birkenstein’s idea for the use of templates. The two demonstrate a great portrayal of how templates may be useful for students; however, it was not good enough to convince me that students should begin using them. I find the idea that students should learn to articulate language on their own much more effective in comparison to using templates. Graff and Birkenstein believe the templates are an effective way for students to become critical thinkers, true; however, there are other ways in which students can become effective thinkers such as engaging in class discussions, participating in debates, teaching them how to critically analyze texts , and showing them the tools of how to articulate language. The above will help students become critical thinkers; it will also help them become independent intellectuals.