John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address

Friday, January 20, 1961

What is the overall TOPIC of the text ... and the writer’s

overall MESSAGE or CLAIM about that topic? Don’t

assume the author directly states the claim. It is often

implied or unfolds throughout the text. (Topic can

generally be captured in a word or phrase. Message is a

full sentence observation about the specific topic.)

GENERIC EXAMPLE:

Topic = truth

Message/Claim = Truth is often relative to a situation and

is not universal across people, cultures, or timec