-Buy They Say / I Say from NTHU bookstore (or elsewhere)
-Buy Moneyball from NTHU bookstore (or elsewhere)
-Read They Say / I Say 頁1- bottom of 頁11 and the "Putting in Your Oar" section on 頁13-14.
-Read Moneyball 頁6-42, middle of 頁54- bottom of 頁63, bottom of 頁69 - bottom of 頁72, top of 頁76 to bottom of 頁78, top of頁82 - middle of 頁85, bottom of 頁89 - bottom of 頁96. (The parts I removed just tell you more about how Billy Beane never lived up to his promise as a baseball player, and more about how Bill James developed an important theory of baseball statistics that was largely unknown until the 1990s.)
Pages for 中文 edition if you borrow that one from my office: p. 4 比恩年輕時... to the end of p. 45, p. 58 一九九〇年春訓... to the end of p. 68, p. 75 他並非這個理想的原創者... to p. 78 ... 恐怕要精準許多, p. 81 詹姆斯是位唯美主義者... to p. 84 ... 更積極地提出解決之道, p. 88 與詹姆斯來回通信並信服他理念的群眾不斷增加... to p. 91 ... 築起一座高牆 將一切擋在外面, p. 96 直到一九九〇年初期... to the end of p. 103
Homework/Preparation Questions:
Important note... you are only required to prepare an answer for class if your name is next to the question below. However, it will help your preparation to consider all the questions.
1. (Jenny) What is an academic writing "move"? In other words, give your own definition or example of the term "move(s)" on 頁1 of They Say / I Say.
2. (Jenny) Does the social and argumentative style of writing that Graff and Birkenstein explain on 頁3 of They Say / I Say agree with your previous writing instruction (in high school and college)? Or does it disagree? Explain.
3. (Aaron... the other one, ha ha) On 頁8, G&B say that "making statements that nobody can possibly disagree with... is actually a recipe for flat, lifeless writing." They also say that good writing must answer the question "so what?" or "who cares?" Do this philosophy agree with your previous writing instruction (in high school and college)? Or does it disagree? Explain.
4. (Kim) Why did Michael Lewis decide to study baseball? (See especially 頁xiv.)
5. What is "financial determinism" in baseball (頁xii)? Phrase Lewis' disagreement with financial determinism (on 頁xiii and throughout the book) into a "They Say / He Says" template. For example, Many baseball fans think that _________. But Michael Lewis argues in his book Moneyball that _________.
6. (Ting-Ju) What gives traditional baseball scouts and managers their intellectual authority? In other words, how did they get (and keep) their jobs? Why does Billy Beane think this may lead to mistakes, and what source(s) of intellectual authority does he substitute?
7. (Esther) On 頁24, Lewis offers examples of how the traditional baseball scouts and managers speak "a language only faintly resembling English," one that relies on intuitive or non-scientific assumptions. He later explains, when he introduces Bill James, that baseball scouting and management has always been controlled by "insiders," who distrust the new scientific views developed by "outsiders." What we come to see is that the traditional language of baseball probably leads to these insiders making bad decisions, but that it also allows them to monopolize their own power. Can you think of another example in which an insider language is used to monopolize power? Explain.
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Hi, I'm Jenny!
ReplyDeleteReading the assigned part of They say/ I say, I didn't find anything about the "social writing" as you mentioned in Question #2. Or does it mean the same thing as "argumentative writing"?
Jenny, those are words that I am using; I'm not sure it specifically says "social" in the book. Social writing would mean writing that is specifically directed to an audience; argumentative writing is writing that responds to other writers. I was just trying to summarize the view of writing that is presented by Graff & Birkenstein.
ReplyDeleteOh, so I get it! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI think the witch doctor can be an example. In ancient times or even nowadays in some primary tribes, witch doctors play an important role in their daily lives. people often think the witch doctor has magic powers; however, as a matter of fact, more often then not, they are those who cleverer than average people. But these people always use this "superiority" (which the public believe they have magic power) and fabric a situation as if they are omniscience, while that's nothing more than a fraud.
ReplyDeleteThe scouts judge each baseball players by eyes. The believe what they see on a player. For example, they like players who have great body; they think great body means great potential in the future.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Billy Beane doesn't believe what his eyes see. Eye-observation only results in subjective and limited outcome and in this way they will miss several good players whose appearance is not as good as their capability. Therefore, Billy Beane starts using statistics to analyze baseball players performance. He turns subjective judging into numbers. Knowing what all those numbers indicate, he then can make the decision.
I agree.
ReplyDeleteSometimes people don't see their weaknesses because they only see from their own view. So we need to see from others' view, especially from the opposing side's view. It would help us see our own weaknesses and so be able to make stronger argument in order to support our own opinions.
Also, using others' opinions could appeal to them, making them feel that they are understood and cared, and therefore could relate our arguments to theirs. It would be more interesting and more like a communication, which should be mutual. Or two sides' ideas will be just like parallel lines and have no intersection point.
Therefore, I strongly agree that not only "I say" but also "They say" are both equally important in writing or just discussing.
I agree.
ReplyDeleteSometimes people couldn't see their own weaknesses from their own view. So through the opposing side's view, we are more probably to see our weaknesses and so to be able to figure out stronger arguments to support our opinions.
Also, using others' opinions could appeal to them, making them feel that they are understood and cared so that they might be more willing to listen to us. The use of others' arguments makes the discussion more interesting and more like a communication, which should be two-way. Without communication, both sides' arguments will be like parallel lines and have no intersection point, and the discussion will never have an end or conclusion.
Therefore, I strongly agree that "They say" and "I say" are equally important in argumentative writing.
It's strange.
ReplyDeleteWhen I posted the first one, the blog told me that I failed to posted it, so I typed again. But now I have two different ones.
Jenny, sometimes the blog does funny things like that. Don't worry about it... although there is a "delete" option, if you click on the little garbage can.
ReplyDeleteI knew that, but the answers aren't the same, so I chose to keep both of them.
ReplyDeleteHi I'm Aaron. In my opinion, making a statement that nobody can possibly disagree with is impossible. When I was a seniour high school student, my English teacher told me that when you write an essay, it is impossible that all yours readers agree with you own opinions. You cannot force others to believe in your opinions, instead you should discuss with your readers and leave some queation to them. A good essay needs discussion.
ReplyDeleteAaron, this is a good point. (As I say to myself in the mirror often!) There is no such thing as a 100% agreeable statement. There is probably no such thing as a 0% agreeable statement either.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, we should begin from the assumption that our reader agrees with us about SOME things, but also disagrees with us about some OTHER things.
Then you make another point, which is that the essay itself can promote "discussion" about these agreements and disagreements, but it cannot hope to entirely conclude the discussion. (To achieve the 100% condition.)
So the lesson here is that your essay is neither the beginning nor the end. There were ideas that came before it, and there will be ideas that come after it. This relieves some of the pressure to be "perfect," although it does give you the responsibility of doing some research.
It all began when Michael Lewis noticed Oakland A. and their disproportionate winning to their payroll. He spent some time in the front office of Oakland A. and decided Billy Beane and his revolutionary method in choosing baseball players would be a wonderful story to tell.
ReplyDelete