They Say / I Say: Assignment 1

I had way too much fun writing this. 

1. Ever since the infamous publication of Fifty Shades of Gray, Twilight fanfiction-turned-bestselling novel, the subsequent global inquiry into the pop culture phenomenon known as "fanfiction" has exposed what has been dubbed "the dark side of fan bases". Many people now view these unpublished fan works, originally meant to be an expansion on the plots and settings of legally published books, movies, etc., as a perversion of the original message conveyed by this kind of media. However, although some works resemble Fifty Shades of Grey in their twisting of the original subject matter, there is an equal amount, if not more, of quality, thoughtful works that seek to analyze and possibly extend the subject matter in a way that remains true to the original creator's intentions. The truth is, a large majority of well-known fanfiction authors see their work as a way to better their technique and receive feedback. Several of these have published their own original work and have written fanfiction about their own compositions. Through fanfiction, fans can gain a better understanding of the themes and morals behind elements of popular culture and their implications on modern society. Its recycling of basic ideas and concepts reflect the similar usage of rhetoric devices and conventional writing formulas, as detailed in "They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. In this essay, then, the examination of the fanfiction’s effect on popular culture will show the positive impact of fanfiction on society as a whole.

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 assist in the creation of organized, logical essays that address popular and/or alternate views on the subject and the author's response to such perspectives. Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer allow for a collected progression of ideas within an essay while retaining the originality of the author. As the authors themselves put it, "Instead of focusing fully on the abstract principles of writing, then, this book offers model templates that help you put those principles directly into practice...[giving] you an immediate sense of how to engage in the kinds of critical thinking you are required to do at the college level and in the vocational and public sphere beyond." Although some people believe that such templates and recycling of concepts constitute plagiarism, Graff and Birkenstein insist that such structures are generic enough to be reused without legal opposition. In sum, then, their view is that these templates are to be used to develop students' writing skills and technique to the point where they no longer need pre-existing structures to construct a well-rounded argumentative composition.

            I retain mixed feelings about this approach. In my view, the types of templates the authors recommend seem orderly and thought-provoking; however, they are stilted and prosaic. For instance, the templates are open-ended, forcing the student to use critical thinking skills to fill in the blanks. In addition, the template content points the student in the right direction by using familiar transitions. Some might object, though, on the grounds that said transition phrases are overused in every template and the sentence structure is very predictable. Yet, I would argue that these templates are only meant to be a foundation for further growth, and should not be complete to point where the student is merely filling in the blanks. Overall, then, I believe that although it has its flaws, the template system has merit in its ability to allow students to quickly grasp the demonstrated structures-an important point to make given that this is only a teaching tool, rather than a replacement for a course.