Conventions of Composition Rule 209

Rule: Avoid claims of authorial intent. What an author, poet, or playwright tried to say is insignificant compared to how you interpret and derive meaning from the text as written. To assert a claim of authorial intent is to undermine the integrity of your argument. Given that you have no way to confirm how the author intended for you to interpret their language, you should aim to analyze the content independent of the author's intent.  

Note: In most cases, it makes sense to name the author/poet/playwright and novel/play/poem/essay in your introduction (#208), then not again. Instead of continually naming the author, direct your readers to a specific observation you make of the content and language of a text; then, use analytical verbs to dissect your ideas and articulate how and why your observation evokes a broader idea. 

Examples:

Wrong: Nathaniel Hawthorne was trying to make a statement about the importance redemption.

Better: The Scarlet Letter makes a statement about the importance of redemption.

Best: The Scarlet Letter illustrates the possibility of redemption through a life without secrets.

Wrong: Steinbeck hopes to show that George had a complex personality.

Better: In writing Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck demonstrates George's complex personality.

Best: By showing both George's gruff side and his care for Lennie, Of Mice and Men displays George's complex personality.

Practice removing claims of authorial intent:

1. Morrison doesn't want Sula and Nel's relationship to be easy for the reader to understand.

2. Golding purposefully has Jack and Ralph display opposing characteristics.

3. Bronte wanted the reader to have mixed feelings about Heathcliff.

Resources for further explanation of avoiding claims of authorial intent:

UVM's Tips for Close Reading (scroll down or search "authorial intent")

SMU's The Intentional Fallacy