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 aid people in mastering the basics of writing. Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer will lay a foundation that aspiring writers can build upon. As the authors themselves put it, "invites you to become a certain type of person: a critical, intellectual thinker who, instead of sitting passively on the sidelines, can participate in the debates and conversations of your world in an active and empowered way."
Although some people believe that templates stifle creativity, Graff and Birkenstein insist that templates will make a writer more creative, not less, because mastering the basics of writing will open the doors to more creative expression. In sum, their view is that writing templates are a very effective way for the learning writer to formulate original content.
I agree. In my view, the types of templates that the authors recommend are important and effective. For instance, this essay, which is brimming with raw, untamed swag, was created with the use of these templates. In addition, the blog entry below this one, which is also brimming with raw, untamed swag, was also created with the use of a template. Some might object, of course, on the grounds that using templates is plagiarism, no matter how swaggaliquious the result turns out to be. Yet I would argue that no one person can own a conventional formula, and people like this do not recognize the difference between plagiarism and legitimate use. Also, these people underestimate the value of an essay that is brimming with raw, untamed swaggaliquiousness. Overall, then, I believe that the use of templets is a great way to encourage creative writing - an important point to make given that many people have swagless essays due to a lack of an understanding of the basics of writing.