18.1: Joining the Conversation- Academic Discourse
- Page ID
- 434469
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Imagine yourself at a part where you don’t know anyone or what they are talking about. There’s nothing to do but listen in, eavesdropping a bit. Then you find one group talking about a topic you are interested in perhaps because you’ve had a related experience, or it is about a profession you hope one day to join. So, you stop to listen more. As you think about what is being said, you ask yourself whether you agree or disagree, and why. Then, to be polite, you refer to a comment someone in the group just made and you jump into the conversation, offering an idea of your own. You feel a little shaky at first, but soon someone responds to your idea, with, “Right! Good point!” and you feel like you belong.
In college, the way scholars communicate with each other is much like the party just described. The “party” is this great conversation that has been going on throughout history among many, many people. Great thinkers have read the ideas of others who lived before them, and they then added their own ideas, which in turn have been read by those who live after them – all to resolve the most ancient puzzles of who we are, why we are here, and what our purpose is. In academia, this conversation is called “academic discourse.” But don’t let that fancy phrase intimidate you; it simply means the way scholars talk to each other.
In recent times, every expert was once a student like you in a college composition course, learning how to understand the ideas of others, format papers, punctuate quotations, organize ideas, and access databases. While you may hesitate to add your own ideas, realize that even experienced scholars (like your professors) get a little nervous from time-to-time entering the conversation! Just accept that you are building your metacognitive “chops” and imagine the confidence you will feel when you do! You now are invited to join the party, the great conversation which previously you may not have even been aware of.
The “Moves” of the Conversation
According to scholars Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, the conversation has two moves:
Move 1: They Say
First, use good reading skills to comprehend and learn from the authors of scholarly texts (which may be written, spoken, or visual). Your job at this point is to comprehend so you can accurately and objectively summarize the text, especially figuring out the text’s position (that is, the main idea or thesis). Furthermore, your job is also to raise questions with a healthy skepticism in order to refine ideas in this great conversation.
Move 2: You Say
After you have “listened,” the next move is to share your ideas or “voice.” Your voice should not only summarize, showing the main ideas that you learned from others, but should also communicate your conclusions and insights. Reading exposes us to others’ thoughts about important topics and leads us to reflect more upon those topics. In other words, reading encourages us to think critically by holding what we know up to scrutiny and then deciding if our opinions are still valid. You do not have to agree with everything you read. Critical thinking involves considering what a writer has to say and then applying your own powers of logic and observation to decide if those ideas are valid.
Graff, Gerald, et al. ‘They Say/I Say’: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. New York City, W.W. Norton, 2009.