Articulating Authors’ Claims

Example #1:

In the piece “Community of Truth,” Parker Palmer delivers a very interesting subject of thought with his beliefs and expansive details on the community of truth and its relation to the educational community.

· This claim begins with proper format—i.e. puts the essay title in quotation marks, names the author, uses a verb (“delivers”) to introduce the argument—but then falls short in two ways.

1. Poser syndrome. The writer is utilizing awkward, wordy, faux-sophisticated language (“delivers a very interesting subject of thought with his beliefs and expansive details”) rather than just stating directly (“believes” or “argues” or “contends”).

2. Empty. Do we know what Palmer believes about education? Nope. Not yet. Get beyond the topic of the essay and into the argument.

Example #2:

“The Community of Truth” is a piece that talks about individuals, and the influence that a community has on that individual on how they study, see, and construe the truth.

· This claim is trying to be a bit more specific than the previous one, but it still falls short. How so?

1. No attribution. This claim doesn’t acknowledge the author behind the argument. Pieces don’t speak for themselves. Writers should be credited—and held accountable—for their ideas; name them.

2. Empty. Again, do we really know what the author believes? Nope. Not yet. Hundreds of essays could be written about “the influence that a community has on [how] individual[s]… study, see, and construe the truth,” and those could all be very different essays. Right? Tell us what this one says.

Example #3:

In the essay “Community of Truth,” Parker Palmer argues that the traditional model of learning—in which an “expert” conveys some “objective truth” to a group of passive “amateurs”—is problematic, given that all “truths” are subjective and are constantly evolving. Rather, he supports a “Community of Truth” model in which learners actively engage with the subject matter itself and share a diversity of viewpoints.

· This claim is doing full duty.

1. It attributes the argument to a person, and names the essay, which is properly punctuated with quotation marks.

2. It introduces the claim with a strong and direct verb: “argues.”

1. It is specific in its explanation of the argument, identifying Palmer’s key terms, clarifying what the author supports and does not support, and offering reasons for the author’s beliefs.