Chapter 5

Distinguishing What You Say from What

They Say

5: Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say

• Readers have to be able to tell at every point• Recognize such signals in reading• Voice-markers

5: Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say

• Read the following passage. What are it’s problems?

We are all middle class. As a result, our class differences are muted and our collective character is homogenized.

Class divisions are real and arguably the most significant factor in determining both our very being in the world and the nature of the society we live in.

- Gregory Mantsios, “Rewards and Opportunities: The Politics and Economics of Class in the US”

5: Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say

• Now read this version“We are all middle class,” or so it would seem. Our

national consciousness, as shaped in large part by the media and our political leadership, provides us with a picture of ourselves as a nation of prosperity and opportunity with an ever expanding middle-class lifestyle. As a result, our class differences are muted and our collective character is homogenized.

Yet class divisions are real and arguably the most significant factor in determining both our very being in the world and the nature of the society we live in.

• “or so it would seem” – shows that he doesn’t necessarily agree

• Placed opening view in quotation marks• Distances himself – “our national consciousness”• “Yet”• Direct, authoritative, declarative tone (2nd par)• Need to be able to distinguish. • Look at previous paragraph without voice markers

5: Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say

• First person okay… as long as supported• Avoid “I think” “I believe” “I argue” repetitively• You can embed it into your own writing• Ex. Liberals believe that cultural differences need to

be respected. I have a problem with this view, however.

• Better Ex. I have a problem with what liberals call cultural differences.

• Better Ex. There is a major problem with the liberal doctrine about so-called cultural differences

5: Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say

5: Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say

• Embedding references allow you to economize your train of thought and refer to other perspectives without any major interruption

5: Distinguishing What You Say from What They SayExercise 8

• To see how one writer signals when she is asserting her own views and when she is summarizing those of someone else, read the following passage by the social historian Julie Charlip. As you do so, identify the spots where Charlip refers to the views of others and the signal phrases she uses to distinguish her view from theirs.