Thomas Newkirk pushes back against the Common Core Standards in his manifesto Minds Made for Stories: How We Really Read and Write Informational and Persuasive Texts.
He argues that narrative is the foundation for all writing, insofar as it represents an author leading readers through a process or argument. He disputes the contention of the Common Core State Standards that “A logical argument . . . convinces the audience because of the perceived merit and reasonableness of the claims and proofs offered, rather than the emotions the writing evokes in the audience or the character and credentials of the writer.” There is always a persona in an argument, and that persona must be trustworthy, regardless of the elegance of the reasoning. In this way he restores narrative as a device of argument, raising it from an unsophisticated form of discourse.

Narrative, in Newkirk’s estimation, is not only fundamental to writing, it is more lucid, direct, and concise than informative or argumentative writing. It makes non-fiction prose better, more compelling, more arousing and fulfilling of needs. “Even the arguments we make are often about a version of a story, or in the service of a story, which claim for causality is most plausible.. . . Informational texts regularly describe processes (evolution, the auto-immune system, photosynthesis, global warming) that take narrative form” (145). It explains why textbooks are so off-putting: there is no drama, no compelling story of a discipline.

The problem lies with texts that insist on removing traces of a persona by writing from an impersonal viewpoint and resorting to the passive voice. Although we can agree they are less inviting texts, they still litter the path of non-fiction literature. Even in the humanities authors are committed to removing themselves from their prose and the difficulties of reading the text are considered among its virtues. Professional journals may enforce this practice by prescribing a style. So regardless of what we prefer, We may be subject to the convolution of “objective” prose.

My heart remains with the narrative stylists, and my students will always hear my preferences in that regard. At the same time I believe that the discipline has the privilege of mandating its own style, so coping strategies are still in order.