Once you have the pattern, the rest is easy… (let’s check it out with Chaucer)

You can follow the pattern easily.

Statement of fact. BOO…hiss…yuck…ick Now THAT’S a strong assertion!  An assertion is NOT simply a statement of fact.  The pardoner sells pardons from the pope.  An assertion IS a statement that requires proof.  Chaucer uses the pardoner’s character to indirectly criticize the church.

I wrote a good assertion…HELP! Oh, I can do that.  Depending on your purpose, you may need to write a short plot summary to help give context to your reader.

Chaucer uses the pardoner’s character to indirectly criticize the church. The pardoner tells a tale of three hoodlums who, in a drunken stupor, go “in search of Death” in order to rid the world of death. In their search, they find an old man who says that he cannot find Death and Death cannot find him. The drunken men demand that the old man point to where they can find Death; however, the men find treasure instead.

 Yes. If you think you are even close to finishing this paragraph, you are not paying attention.

 No, now go to your text and find a direct quote that supports exactly what you just said.  “And every one of these three roisterers ran Till he came to that tree; and there they found, Of florins of fine gold, new-minted, round, Well-nigh eight bushels full, or so they thought./ No longer, then, after this Death they sought, But each of them so glad was of that sight, Because the florins were so fair and bright, That down they all sat by this precious hoard.”

Chaucer uses the pardoner’s character to indirectly criticize the church. The pardoner tells a tale of three hoodlums who, in a drunken stupor, go “in search of Death” in order to rid the world of death. In their search, they find an old man who says that he cannot find Death and Death cannot find him. The drunken men demand that the old man point to where they can find Death; however, the men find treasure instead. The pardoner tells that “every one of these three roisterers ran Till he came to that tree; and there they found, Of florins of fine gold, new-minted, round, Well-nigh eight bushels full, or so they thought” (Chaucer l )

 But you still haven’t done anything but write an assertion, give a little plot summary, and quote from the text. Why she hasn’t PROVEN anything yet.

 In a situational twist, the men all kill each other and, ironically, find Death. However, the pardoner tells this “moral” tale of greed and then asks for money from the other travelers for his service which creates a double irony.

Chaucer uses the pardoner’s character to indirectly criticize the church. The pardoner tells a tale of three hoodlums who, in a drunken stupor, go “in search of Death” in order to rid the world of death. In their search, they find an old man who says that he cannot find Death and Death cannot find him. The drunken men demand that the old man point to where they can find Death; however, the men find treasure instead. The pardoner tells that “every one of these three roisterers ran Till he came to that tree; and there they found, Of florins of fine gold, new-minted, round, Well-nigh eight bushels full, or so they thought” (Chaucer 160-5). In a situational twist, the men all kill each other and, ironically, find Death. However, the pardoner tells this “moral” tale of greed and then asks for money from the other travelers for his service which creates a double irony.

WRONG, no…ick… yuck…

 Much literary analysis of The Pardoner's Tale has been devoted to the cognitive dissonance of a prototypical pardoner's audience, willing dupes sincerely believing in a transcendent deliverer knowing the warrant is false and the relics just another bag of pig knuckles. Equally compelling is the study of the Pardoner as moral arbiter among the compromised. The Pardoner, imprisoned by his own hypocrisy, knowing that his penitents are fully aware of his deceptions, nonetheless takes the high ground because for the moment at least he is smarter than anyone around him,. After all, it's only his wallet that gets fatter.  The americanthinker.com

 Do you honestly think that you can cut and paste that into a paragraph, slap an in-text citation on it and get away with it?  Ya’ pullin my leg?

 Do not try to “sound smart” by using information that you do not really understand. What kind of support is THAT?

 “Perhaps the most important topic of all deals with the hypocrisy and sinful nature of the pardoner himself. His entire tale serves the purpose to persuade the pilgrims to buy his pardons and his relics. In this way, he tells his tale not to serve God, but to serve himself. The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale reveal his relics are actually counterfeit and have no holy significance.”   I actually understand this

 O.K. Good. You understand the research. Now paraphrase it and put it into your own words.  The pardoner shows Chaucer’s criticism of the hypocrisy of the church because the pardoner only tells his tale in order to get money and not to serve God.

 If you just paraphrase research, you still have to give an in- text citation.  The “Yoder Method” uses a paraphrase followed by the direct quote from the research anyway…so the citation is a natural extension of the direct quote

 Paraphrase…then quote The pardoner shows Chaucer’s criticism of the hypocrisy of the church because the pardoner only tells his tale in order to get money and not to serve God. The main purpose of the tale shows “the hypocrisy and sinful nature of the pardoner himself. His entire tale serves the purpose to persuade the pilgrims to buy his pardons and his relics. In this way, he tells his tale not to serve God, but to serve himself” (

 Chaucer uses the pardoner’s character to indirectly criticize the church. The pardoner tells a tale of three hoodlums who, in a drunken stupor, go “in search of Death” in order to rid the world of death. In their search, they find an old man who says that he cannot find Death and Death cannot find him. The drunken men demand that the old man point to where they can find Death; however, the men find treasure instead. The pardoner tells that “every one of these three roisterers ran Till he came to that tree; and there they found, Of florins of fine gold, new-minted, round, Well-nigh eight bushels full, or so they thought” (Chaucer 160-5). In a situational twist, the men all kill each other and, ironically, find Death. However, the pardoner tells this “moral” tale of greed and then asks for money from the other travelers for his service which creates a double irony. The pardoner shows Chaucer’s criticism of the hypocrisy of the church because the pardoner only tells his tale in order to get money and not to serve God. The main purpose of the tale shows “the hypocrisy and sinful nature of the pardoner himself. His entire tale serves the purpose to persuade the pilgrims to buy his pardons and his relics. In this way, he tells his tale not to serve God, but to serve himself” (

WRONG, no…ick… yuck…

Are you going to let someone else speak for you…NO!

 The pardoner, like several of the other characters representing the church, shows the corruption that was common in Chaucer’s time. When you get to big papers, you can even tie in the summary of each paragraph to your overall thesis…WOW!

Chaucer uses the pardoner’s character to indirectly criticize the church. The pardoner tells a tale of three hoodlums who, in a drunken stupor, go “in search of Death” in order to rid the world of death. In their search, they find an old man who says that he cannot find Death and Death cannot find him. The drunken men demand that the old man point to where they can find Death; however, the men find treasure instead. The pardoner tells that “every one of these three roisterers ran Till he came to that tree; and there they found, Of florins of fine gold, new-minted, round, Well-nigh eight bushels full, or so they thought” (Chaucer 160-5). In a situational twist, the men all kill each other and, ironically, find Death. However, the pardoner tells this “moral” tale of greed and then asks for money from the other travelers for his service which creates a double irony. The pardoner shows Chaucer’s criticism of the hypocrisy of the church because the pardoner only tells his tale in order to get money and not to serve God. The main purpose of the tale shows “the hypocrisy and sinful nature of the pardoner himself. His entire tale serves the purpose to persuade the pilgrims to buy his pardons and his relics. In this way, he tells his tale not to serve God, but to serve himself” ( The pardoner, like several of the other characters representing the church, shows the corruption that was common in Chaucer’s time.

 No. But it is a lot better than some of the stuff I see pasted together.  Strengths: the paragraph has a clear structure. The text and research is correctly documented. The paragraph shows understanding.

Welcome to the big leagues boys and girls.