The following templates come from They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing.

Introducing What They Say

  • A number of $$$ have recently suggested that $$$.
  • It has become common today to dismiss $$$.
  • In their recent work, Y and Z have offered harsh critiques of Dr. X for $$$.

Introducing Standard Views

  • American 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 $$$
  • Many people assumed that $$$

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 $$$

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, $$$ often take for granted that $$$

Introducing an Ongoing Debate

  • In discussions of X, one controversial issue has been $$$. On the other hand, $$$ 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 $$$, others maintain that $$$.
  • In conclusion, then, defenders of $$$ can’t have it both ways. Their assertion that $$$ is contradicted by their claim that $$$.

Capturing Authorial Action

  • X acknowledges that $$$.
  • X agrees that $$$
  • X argues that $$$
  • X believes that $$$
  • X denies / does not deny that $$$
  • X claims that
  • X complains that $$$
  • X conceded that $$$
  • X demonstrates that $$$
  • X deplores the tendency to $$$
  • X celebrates the fact that $$$
  • X emphasizes that $$$
  • X insists that $$$
  • X observes that $$$
  • X questions whether $$$
  • X refutes the claim that $$$
  • X reminds us that $$$
  • X suggests that $$$
  • X urges us to $$$

Introducing Quotations

  • X states, “$$$.”
  • As the prominent philosopher X puts it, “$$$.”
  • According to X, “$$$.”
  • X himself writes, “$$$.”
  • In her book, $$$, X maintains that “$$$.”
  • Writing in the journal $$$, X complains that “$$$.”
  • In X’s view, “$$$.”
  • X agrees/disagrees when she writes, “$$$.”
  • X complicates matters further when he writes, “$$$.”

Explaining Quotations

  • Basically, X is saying $$$.
  • In other words, X believes $$$.
  • In making this comment, X argues that $$$.
  • X is insisting that $$$
  • X’s point is that $$$
  • The essence of X’s argument is that $$$

Disagreeing, with Reasons

  • I think X is mistaken because she overlooks $$$
  • X’s claim that $$$ rests upon the questionable assumption that $$$.
  • I disagree with X’s view that $$$ because, as recent research has show, $$$
  • X contradicts herself /can’t have it both ways. On the one hand, she argues $$$, but on the other hand, she also says $$$
  • By focusing on $$$, X overlooks the deeper problem of $$$
  • X claims $$$, but we don’t need X to tell us that. Anyone familiar with $$$ has long know that $$$

Agreeing, with a Difference

  • I agree that $$$ because my experience confirms it.
  • X surely is right about $$$ because, as she may not be aware, recent studies have shown that $$$.
  • X’s theory of $$$ is extremely useful because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of $$$
  • I agree that $$$, a point that needs emphasizing since so many people believe $$$
  • Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interested to know that it basically boils down to $$$
  • If group X is right that $$$, as I think they are, then we need to reassess the popular assumption that $$$

Agreeing and Disagreeing Simultaneously

  • Although I agree with X up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that $$$
  • Although I disagree with much that X says, I fully endorse his final conclusion that $$$
  • Though I concede that $$$, I still insist that $$$
  • Whereas X provides ample evidence that $$$, Y and Z’s research on $$$ and $$$ convinces me that $$$ instead.
  • X is right that $$$, but she seems on more dubious ground when she claims that $$$
  • While X is probably wrong when she claims that $$$, she is right that $$$
  • I’m of two minds about X’s claim that $$$. On the one hand, I agree that $$$. On the other hand, I’m not sure if $$$
  • My feelings on the issue are mixed. I do support X’s positions that $$$, but I find Y’s argument about $$$ and Z’s research on $$$ to be equally persuasive.

Signaling Who Is Saying What

  • X argues $$$
  • According to both X and Y, $$$
  • Politicians $$$, X argues, should $$$
  • Most athletes will tell you that $$$
  • My own view, however, is that $$$
  • I agree, as X may not realize, that $$$, but $$$ are real and, arguably, the most significant factor in $$$
  • However X is wrong that $$$
  • However, it is simply not true that $$$
  • Indeed, it is highly likely that $$$
  • Nonetheless, the view that $$$ does not fit all the facts.
  • X is right that $$$
  • X is wrong that
  • X is both right and wrong that $$$
  • A sober analysis of the matter reveals $$$
  • Nevertheless, new research shows $$$
  • Anyone familiar with $$$ should see that $$$

Embedding Voice Markers

  • X overlooks what I consider an important point about $$$
  • My own view is that what X insists is a $$$ is in fact a $$$
  • I wholeheartedly endorse what X calls $$$
  • These conclusions, which X discusses in $$$, add weight to the argument that $$$

Entertaining Objections

  • At this point, I would like to raise some objections that have been inspired by the skeptic in me. She feels that I have been ignoring $$$., “$$$,” she says to me, “$$$.”
  • Thus far some readers may challenge the view that $$$. After all, many believe $$$. Indeed, my own argument that $$$ seems to ignore $$$ and $$$
  • Of course, many will probably disagree with the assertion that $$$

Naming Your Nay Sayers

  • Here many $$$ would probably object that $$$
  • However/But $$$ would certainly take issue with the argument that $$$
  • $$$, of course, may want to question whether/dispute my claim that $$$
  • Nevertheless, both followers and critics of $$$ will probably argue that $$$
  • Although not all $$$ think alike, some of them will probably dispute my claim that $$$
  • $$$ are so diverse in their views that it’s hard to generalize about them, but some are likely to object on the grounds that $$$

Introducing Objections Informally

  • However/But is my proposal realistic? What are the chances of its actually being adopted?
  • Yet is it always true that $$$? Is it always the case, as I have been suggesting, that $$$?
  • However, does the evidence cited prove conclusively that $$$?
  • “Impossible,” some will say. “You must be reading the research selectively.”

Making Concessions while Still Standing Your Ground

  • Although I grant that $$$, I still maintain that $$$
  • Proponents of X are right to argue that $$$. But they exaggerate when they claim that $$$
  • While it is true that $$$, it does not necessarily follow that $$$
  • On the one hand, I agree with X that $$$. But on the other hand, I still insist that $$$

Indicating Who Cares

  • $$$ used to think $$$, but recently (or within the past few decades) $$$ suggests that $$$
  • What his new research does, then, is correct the mistaken impression, held by many earlier researchers, that $$$
  • These findings challenge the work of earlier researchers, who tended to assume that $$$
  • Recent studies like these shed new light on $$$, which previous studies had not addressed.
  • Researchers have long assumed that $$$. For instance, one eminent scholar of cell biology, $$$ assumed in $$$, her seminal work on cell structures and functions, that fate cells $$$. As $$$ herself put it, “$$$.” Another leading scientist, $$$, argued that fat cells “$$$.” Ultimately, when it came to the nature of fat, the basic assumption was that $$$. But a new body of research shows that fat cells are far more complex and that $$$
  • If sports enthusiasts stopped to think about it, any of them might simply assume that the most successful athletes $$$. However, new research shows $$$.
  • These findings challenge $$$’s common assumptions that $$$
  • At first glance, teenagers appear to $$$, but on closer inspection $$$

Establishing Why Your Claims Matter

  • X matters/is important because $$$
  • Although X may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of today’s concern over $$$
  • Ultimately, what is at stake here is $$$
  • These findings have important consequences for the broader domain of $$$
  • My discussion of X is in fact addressing the larger matter of $$$
  • These conclusions / This discovery will have significant application in $$$ as well as in $$$
  • Although X may seem of concern to only a small group of $$$, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about $$$

Adding Meta-commentary

  • In other words, $$$
  • What $$$ really means by this is $$$
  • My point is $$$
  • Essentially, I am arguing that $$$
  • My point is not that we should $$$, but that we should $$$
  • What $$$ really means is $$$
  • In other words, $$$
  • To put it another way, $$$
  • In sum, then, $$$
  • My conclusion, then is that, $$$
  • In short, $$$
  • What is more important, $$$
  • Incidentally, $$$
  • By the way, $$$
  • Chapter two explores $$$, while Chapter three examines $$$
  • Having just argued that $$$, let us now turn our attention to $$$.
  • Although some readers may object that $$$, I would answer that $$$.

Commonly Used Transitions

Cause and Effect

  • Accordingly
  • As a result
  • Consequently
  • Hence
  • It follows, then
  • Since
  • So
  • Then
  • Therefore
  • Thus

Conclusion

  • As a result
  • Consequently
  • Hence
  • In conclusion, then
  • In short
  • In sum, then
  • It follows, then
  • So
  • The upshot of all this is that
  • Therefore
  • Thus
  • To sum up
  • To summarize

Comparison

  • Along the same line
  • In the same way
  • Likewise
  • Similarly

Contrast

  • Although
  • But
  • By contrast
  • Conversely
  • Despite the fact that
  • Even though
  • However
  • In contrast
  • Nevertheless
  • Nonetheless
  • On the contrary
  • On the other hand
  • Regardless
  • Whereas
  • While
  • Yet

Addition

  • Also
  • And
  • Besides
  • Furthermore
  • In addition
  • In fact
  • Indeed
  • Moreover
  • So too

Concession

  • Admittedly
  • Although it is true that
  • Granted
  • I concede that
  • Of course
  • Naturally
  • To be sure

Example

  • After all
  • As an illustration
  • Consider
  • For example
  • For instance
  • Specifically
  • To take/taking a case in point

Elaboration

  • Actually
  • By extension
  • In short
  • That is
  • In other words
  • To put it another way
  • To put it bluntly
  • To put it succinctly
  • Ultimately