Below you will find a number of different ways to integrate the thoughts of others into your own writing. For further reference I recommend Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstien's They Say/I Say. What follows was developed from the second edition of that book.
Introducing "Standard Views"
1. Many today tend to believe that _____.
2. Conventional wisdom has it that _____.
3. The standard way of thinking about topic (x) has it that _____.
4. It is often said that _____.
5. Many people assume that _____.
Introducing Something Implied or Assumed
1. One implication of X's treatment of _____ is that _____.
2. Although X does not say so directly, she apparently assumes that _____.
Introducing an Ongoing Debate
1. In discussions of X, one controversial issue has been _____.
2. On the one hand, _____ argues _____. On the other hand, _____ contends _____.
3. My own view is _____.
Capturing Authorial Action
1. X acknowledges that _____.
2. X agrees that _____.
3. X believes that _____.
4. X claims that _____.
5. X demonstrates that _____.
6. X insists that _____.
7. X reminds us that _____.
Introducing Quotations
1. X states, "_____" (#).
2. According to X, "_____" (#).
3. In her book, _____, X maintains that "_____" (#).
4. X agrees/disagrees when she writes, "_____" (#).
5. X complicates matters further when he writes, "_____" (#).
Disagreeing, With Reasons
1. I think X is mistaken because she overlooks _____.
2. X's claim that _____ rests upon the questionable assumption that _____.
3. By focusing on _____, X overlooks the deeper problem of _____.
Agreeing and Disagreeing Simultaneously
1. Though I concede that _____, I still insist that _____.
2. Although I agree with X up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that _____.
3. While X is probably wrong when she claims that _____, she is right that _____.
