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I think I came to a huge breakthrough today in understanding passages when I saw Dave's video, "Meet the Reading", and I began to pay particular attention from 4:46 to the end. I didn't know that words such as "claimed" can have such deep implications, ultimately implying that the author is a little bit skeptical of what said people claim. I used to think that this was a fairly objective term. So I began to dissect a passage that I was working on today, one that went fairly well in terms of accuracy but not so much in terms of time (finished in about 10 minutes). I would like to go through this passage, paying particular attention to such words and their implications and hopefully someone will tell me if I am right in my thought process in reference to how words are used.

This is not meant to elicit some hard and fast rules that are always able to be followed. However, I am just trying to think about some basics as I begin the RC process. Am I way off in my thoughts?

PT29, Passage 1

Paragraph 1
Line 3: "...some have described as prophetic..."

• -This would be implying a little bit of skepticism, no? The author is saying, "some people have said this" and if the author was agreeing with these some people, the author probably would have said something more objective such as "These paintings are prophetic..."

Line 6: "...are thus said to..."

• Does this imply a little bit of skepticism or lack of agreement, too? Whenever I personally use this in a sentence I am implying that I either don't agree or I don't have an opinion.

Line 8: "but all these styles had in common a very important..."

• The passage is making an objective point, right? The author seems to be agreeing with this point, basically saying "some people believe these works of art are prophetic but I will at least say this: they break tradition!"

Paragraph 2
Line 12-13: "...it is not surprising to discover..."

• The word "discover" seems to be objective here too, right? If you discovered something, it has to be true no matter how you look at it. It seems then, that the author would be agreeing with this point or at least stating its truth.

Line 15: ah. We discovered that they are "often credited..." So it seems that the only thing the author is saying is that it is in fact true that people credit the artists with "anticipating subsequent developments in arts, political disruptions, social disruptions, etc."

Line 20: "One art critic even goes so far as to claim that..."

• This seems to highlight the author's views explicitly. The author is implying that the views of the art critic aren't exactly TRUE ones.

Paragraph 3
Line 30-32: "But the forward-looking quality attributed to the artists should instead be credited to their exceptional..."

• The word "should" here is a pretty clear indication of the author's opinion. This may be the most important sentence in the whole passage.

Line 41-2: "The reformation of society was of no interest to them as artists."

• This, to me, is INCREDIBLY interesting. If something is written in the passive voice or using a "to be" verb without any other opinionated words, can it be assumed that this is just a fact?

Paragraph 4
Line 49: "Most historians have decided..."

• Would this be a little bit biased for the opposing view? As in the author might believe otherwise?

Post removed.

WaltGrace83 wrote:I think I came to a huge breakthrough today in understanding passages when I saw Dave's video, "Meet the Reading", and I began to pay particular attention from 4:46 to the end. I didn't know that words such as "claimed" can have such deep implications, ultimately implying that the author is a little bit skeptical of what said people claim. I used to think that this was a fairly objective term. So I began to dissect a passage that I was working on today, one that went fairly well in terms of accuracy but not so much in terms of time (finished in about 10 minutes). I would like to go through this passage, paying particular attention to such words and their implications and hopefully someone will tell me if I am right in my thought process in reference to how words are used.

This is not meant to elicit some hard and fast rules that are always able to be followed. However, I am just trying to think about some basics as I begin the RC process. Am I way off in my thoughts?

PT29, Passage 1

Paragraph 1
Line 3: "...some have described as prophetic..."

• -This would be implying a little bit of skepticism, no? The author is saying, "some people have said this" and if the author was agreeing with these some people, the author probably would have said something more objective such as "These paintings are prophetic..."

Line 6: "...are thus said to..."

• Does this imply a little bit of skepticism or lack of agreement, too? Whenever I personally use this in a sentence I am implying that I either don't agree or I don't have an opinion.

Line 8: "but all these styles had in common a very important..."

• The passage is making an objective point, right? The author seems to be agreeing with this point, basically saying "some people believe these works of art are prophetic but I will at least say this: they break tradition!"

Paragraph 2
Line 12-13: "...it is not surprising to discover..."

• The word "discover" seems to be objective here too, right? If you discovered something, it has to be true no matter how you look at it. It seems then, that the author would be agreeing with this point or at least stating its truth.

Line 15: ah. We discovered that they are "often credited..." So it seems that the only thing the author is saying is that it is in fact true that people credit the artists with "anticipating subsequent developments in arts, political disruptions, social disruptions, etc."

Line 20: "One art critic even goes so far as to claim that..."

• This seems to highlight the author's views explicitly. The author is implying that the views of the art critic aren't exactly TRUE ones.

Paragraph 3
Line 30-32: "But the forward-looking quality attributed to the artists should instead be credited to their exceptional..."

• The word "should" here is a pretty clear indication of the author's opinion. This may be the most important sentence in the whole passage.

Line 41-2: "The reformation of society was of no interest to them as artists."

• This, to me, is INCREDIBLY interesting. If something is written in the passive voice or using a "to be" verb without any other opinionated words, can it be assumed that this is just a fact?

Paragraph 4
Line 49: "Most historians have decided..."

• Would this be a little bit biased for the opposing view? As in the author might believe otherwise?

Paragraph 4
IMO, the author can be neutral or in fact use "most historians" to side with the argument that "most historians" would be making, especially if the author does not specialize in history. Ex. If most biologists would believe in evolution that would give me a reason to side with them, since i dont have a biology background.

Great observation.