Penrose and Geisler note that Janet sees texts as objective and unauthored; she doesn’t seem to realize that texts are written by human beings who are in conversation with other human beings. In her paper, Janet almost never refers to the authors who wrote the texts she is discussing. Instead, she makes claims without noting who made them, refers to the authors as “it” or “they,” and refers to “the book.” Look at a research paper you have written recently and do a quick analysis. How often do you refer to authors by name in the ways that Roger does, and how often do you refer to texts or claims, as Janet does? What can you conclude about your own sense of authority in the writing you examined?

Ask a professor teaching in your major (or prospective major) if she would be willing to speak with you for about thirty minutes. In this interview, ask the professor (1) how she decides which authors to read when writing a research paper; (2) how she evaluates the claims that authors make; (3) what she does when authors disagree with one another; and (4) what she does when she disagrees with an author. Write up the professor’s responses in a one- to two-page report to share with your classmates.