Rhetorical Analysis of ' 'The Uses and Abuses of University ' '
History professor 's Ken Coates and Bill Morrison, in their article, ' 'The uses and abuses of university, ' ' emphasize the mismatch between what students are learning in university, and what the economy truly needs. Coates and Morrison 's purpose is to impress upon readers the idea that post secondary graduates are often bombarded with unexpected difficulties such as struggling to find paid employment, and accepting unskilled, low paying jobs. They adopt a candid approach in order to convey to their readers the idea that our education is not parallel with our ever changing Canadian economy. The article is concluded with an engaging statement addressing the extreme disconnect between what universities are producing, and what the students need in order to bridge the unemployment gap, and that if universities are unable to accept the truth behind why people attend universities, the graduates and the economy will continue to suffer. Through their use of a strong personal story, statistics, and then and now comparisons, they are able to effectively defend their bold thesis.
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They write of a story about a successful PH.D. graduate struggling to find his way, and they introduce Philip Isard, as an accomplished history graduate, who has straight A 's and great references. They effect the readers by describing Philip 's disheartening search for an ' 'entry level job, ' ' and his return to Toronto ' 'with an empty bank account and no real prospects. ' ' This story illustrates the intense struggle that many university graduates encounter and it appeal 's to the audience because the story touches many who have experienced the same
Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill in the book They Say/ I Say “Should everyone Go to College” have an informative tone throughout their passage. The authors apply their findings and reasoning to real situations and probability’s. Looking at how the author applied pathos, ethos, and logos, you’ll find that the authors did an exceptional job of applying pathos and logos to enhance their arguments to be more persuasive and accurate. They provided logos in their augments by providing statistical rates and data charts to back up their statements. They apply pathos buy examining real scenarios and showing that sometimes it’s a personal determination that will make you successful in college
In the book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer wrote about Christopher McCandless, a nature lover in search for independence, in a mysterious and hopeful experience. Even though Krakauer tells us McCandless was going to die from the beginning, he still gave him a chance for survival. As a reader I wanted McCandless to survive. In Into the Wild, Krakauer gave McCandless a unique perspective. He was a smart and unique person that wanted to be completely free from society. Krakauer included comments from people that said McCandless was crazy, and his death was his own mistake. However, Krakauer is able to make him seem like a brave person. The connections between other hikers and himself helped in the explanation of McCandless’s rational actions. Krakauer is able to make McCandless look like a normal person, but unique from this generation. In order for Krakauer to make Christopher McCandless not look like a crazy person, but a special person, I will analyze the persuading style that Krakauer used in Into the Wild that made us believe McCandless was a regular young adult.
The film, The Graduate, tells a story about a new college graduate and his experience upon returning home to expectations of his peers and a fear of his own future. Produced in the 1960’s, The Graduate, depicts topics such as isolationism and alienation through the protagonist, Benjamin Braddock. The main theme of the movie is the idea of Benjamin’s isolation being caused by the pressure from expectations that the older generations lay upon him; he does not know what he wants to do with his future, yet his father and peers continues to hound him and question him on his future plans. A common fear for most college students and newly college graduates, many college students are unsure of where their lives will lead them and without a certain answer, can be nerve racking. Benjamin’s father and peers make this idea apparent to Ben when they often ask him “What are you gonna do now?”. Our protagonist does not seem to have a positive answer for them almost every time. Mr. Braddock also parades Benjamin to his friends by buying him extravagant gifts
As the article suggested there is an increase in the requirement of a higher education to maintain a well-paid job although, there is an “avalanche of over-qualification” (177) in the workforce. The author indirectly indicates his audience, as being academics of all ages in the university system. The author evokes emotional stimulation from his audience as he stated, “[t]here’s still a reason to get an education! It’s just not anything to do with education” (177). Further indicating a debate regarding the stance of the education system being a business rather than pleasure organization. Through playful language, the author is able to maintain the audience's interest and persuade them into solely seeing the education system as a system with bearing resemblance to the democratic system. Relying on all three rhetorical appeals, the author truly utilizes his language to convey a distinct tone and voice from his argument. Appealing to his audience, the author uses this article to inform them of a false consciousness many academics seem to have, as it is the tendency to believe and define oneself in support of the very system which oppresses them. The bases of the authors argument are to grasp the view of the majority of the scholars and push them to think the same way he does as a
How many people actually go to college and make it through with a degree? This question is asked a lot and the article, “Is College for Everyone?”, discusses the options one has other than college and why some people should not attend college. Pharinet presents her argument of how the reality is college is not for everyone and she makes this clear in different ways. She discusses how different factors are the key reason one chooses to attend college, instead of the desire for learning. She does this by using several different techniques to reach her audience and make her argument known such as: nods to the opposition, logos, diction, and syntax.
A majority of people believe that graduating from college will result in a well-paying job. Unfortunately, a degree will not secure a job for many graduates. In the U.S., the jobless rate for college graduates in 2012 was 7.7 percent, and has further increased in the past five years(Robinson). With such a large pool of unemployed citizens for employers to choose from, recent graduates are facing fewer opportunities for work due to little or no previous work experience(Robinson). Although many graduates are faced with unemployment, the majority do receive the opportunity to work. Sadly, many must work jobs they do not enjoy for salaries that make it difficult to make ends meet(Debate). Students are faced with mortgage-sized debts upon graduation, making it difficult for them to start businesses, buy cars or houses, or make other investments that would better the
The article I chose to analyze is “Is College for Everyone?” In today’s society, everyone would say that education is the key to success. People would say that a person would not get far without having some form of a degree. In reality, college is just not for everyone. Some people would rather just get a job when they graduate high school. People say that a person might not be able to find a good paying job if a person does not go to college, but in reality there are a lot of jobs out here in the world that make plenty of money. There are a lot of people in college that cannot read. They get to college, and flunk out because it gets too difficult for them to continue. Pharinet, a college professor, explains why college is not for everyone. The purpose of this essay is to convince people that
It should not be a surprise that many people believe that a college degree is a necessity in today’s world. We are taught to believe this at a young age. The average citizen will not question this statement due to how competitive the job market has become, yet does graduating college guarantee more success down the road? Peter Brooks is a scholar at Princeton University and publisher of an essay that questions the value of college. He obviously agrees that college can help securing a job for the future, but questions the humanities about the education. He uses other published works, the pursuit of freedom, and draws on universal arguments that pull in the reader to assume the rest of his essay has valid reasons.
Her main purpose is to explain and inform why college may or may not be worth the cost.
College has long been a bastion of hope for those not fortunate enough to inherit a business or fortune from their predecessors, on the other side of the coin; it has also been the site of major controversy and debate, especially surrounding the ever-growing cost of attendance and the rewards that a degree realistically gives onto its holder. The debate is not a new one, but with the recent economic downturn, and the vast sums of new college graduates entering the world without the chance of finding a job, more fuel was added to the fire, and the debate began anew. In order to present new arguments on both sides, articles have been written and published in major newspapers like The Economist and The New York Times, with some varying data and conclusions. David Leonhardt, author of the article published in the NYT by the name of, “Is College Worth?
"College graduates earn more than one million dollars more than high school graduates over their lifetimes." Every teenager has been bombarded with this much-cited statistic in the hope that it will convince him or her to intend a university after high school. But, is it actually the university education that leads to the inequity in salaries between college and high school graduates? Superficial reasoning would suggest yes. It is obvious that the additional education increases the college graduate's human capital and maybe this does lead to greater productivity and higher wages. However, this only seems probable if you ignore what universities actually teach. The majority of what is taught at universities will be of no use to their graduates in their future careers. If the purpose of a college education was to increase relevant work-related skills they would look more like vocational schools where students would specialize in particular skills relevant for their future careers, rather than studying small amounts of every subject. Instead, to a large extent, the purpose of college is to act as a costly signaling mechanism to assist employers in screening employees. A college education is more about showing off than acquiring useful job skills. However, this showing off comes at an enormous price. We waste billions of dollars per year on this showing off, not to mention the four years of someone's life. These tremendous social costs require us to rethink hiring practices and how universities serve their students.
College is the place where people go to retain the necessary training for a job that requires specific skills, which results in earning a higher pay check. In today’s world, employers are scouting out for individuals with the proper dexterities to fill the shoes for that specific job. Blanche D. Blank, the author of “A Question of Degree," argues that possessing a degree of higher education isn’t the only way to have a very successful life. This statement is highly argumentative, due to the fact that college graduates still out-earn people without degrees. Obtaining a college degree is one of the best things someone can do for themselves, when it comes to looking for a stable job. There is also so much more to college than just receiving a
In Caroline Bird’s “College is A Waste of Time and Money”, it’s argued that there are many college students who would be better off if they were to begin working after high school graduation. Colleges and universities can no longer ensure that one will go on to get a better job, getting paid more than they would have without a higher education. However, high school seniors still stress about where they will be attending college, how they’re going to pay for it and what they’re going to study for the next four years. Bird points out how college has changed over the past few decades and how, in turn, it has set many young adults up for disappointment, if nothing else.
It makes their family’s life become tough. They raise a question that why not letting these students go to work instead of this worthless education. As what is mentioned in the article “College degree still worth the investment, data suggest”, the author Mary Beth Marklein shows many evidences to support her main idea that the college education is still worth to invest because it can give college graduates higher wages. She showed the audiences a data, which pointed out that college graduates earned generally 56% higher that people who only have a high school diploma in the past four years. The author also said, “From 1982 to 2001, bachelor 's degree holders earned an average 80% more and associate 's degree-holders almost 30% more than workers with no more than a high school diploma”. The similar contents are also presented in the article “Median Salary Up Two Percent for Higher Education Professionals”. The author insists that the higher degree you get, the higher salary you will earn. In other word, it’s the truth that the college students might have heavy loans when they decided to go to college, but they
Frey, Darcy. “The Last Shot.” Reading and Writing the College Experience. Huron Valley Publishing: Ypsilanti, 2003. 171 – 192.