The author Charles Murray says there are too many people going to college without really saying it. The essay is written in a way that his audience will understand by the time they finish reading that he has many valid points. He Persuades his readers with facts and counters arguments to false stereotypes involving college and success. By questioning whether college is for everyone makes "you" the reader want to rethink if your time spent in college was really worth it in the end.
The essay starts off with Murray saying of course more people be encouraged to go to college then countering with a yes and no to the question. He agrees that yes getting a education is important but majority of people are going for what they should have learned years before reaching the college level. The way people see college as a way to be success doesn't sit well with him as he gives many reasons to why this is false. The statement "college is seen as a open sesame to a good job and desirable way for adolescents to transition to adulthood." proves this point. He argues that yes getting a education is important but it's not always the best way. The hypothetical example involving a student choosing to go college for business or becoming a electrician. Then giving a example of why he would be probably be better off becoming the electrician rather than going to college to do something he may not be as successful as he could've been if he worked as a electrician helps prove his point. Murray continues to argue that the view about college is flawed that many are better off looking for better options rather than following the crowd and going to college.
The essay is written in a very critical style where the reader will feel like they have been wast...
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...a career to something that guarantees a successful life. This negative light gives many student the ugly side of college that maybe it isn't as good as it sounds. The function of the essay to deter students from becoming like sheep and following social norms, Murray wants students to become informed before making decisions that can change the outcome of their life for many years.
My opinion on this essay is that it is very well written and informative. The essay provides me the pros and cons of college that I didn't realize when I began my education. The essay did what it was meant to do which was help me and many other students think carefully about our future and what's really best for us. I guess you can say the essay did its job because it made me think about what if my decision to go to college wasn't the best for me, maybe I was meant to do something else.
Rhetorical Précis: In Michelle Adams’s article, “Is College Worth It (2013),” explores the two side of college worthiness. She provided evidence to
In the article “America’s Most Overrated Product: The Bachelor’s Degree” by Marty Nemko, the author argues several different views on why higher education may be very overestimated. For starters, the author shares his opinion more than anything else due to him being a career counselor. The purpose of this essay is to explain to the readers that most people start off with the idea of living the American Dream. Which is practically going to college to have a better life and career. But over the time the idea of working very hard for a Bachelor’s degree has become very dimmed. Furthermore, for some people, when they think of the American Dream they think of hope for bettering themselves and also helping their families. Unlike the author, Nemko feels that even the thought of trying to pursue to get a bachelor’s degree is overrated. The audience of this passage would most likely be teenagers going into college and parents. Nemko states that “Colleges are quick to argue that a college education is more
Many kids beginning the college - decision process may be feeling lost at first, and ”By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice.”(Owen and Sawhill 209) For a seventeen/eighteen year old, going to college is arguably the biggest decision that they have had to make in their life thus far, and having the facts that Owen and Sawhill produce can be invaluable to the decision-making process. It is clear that the purpose of their essay is to better inform these young adults and guide them on their journey that is life after high school. The primary claim that Owen and Sawhill attempt to drive in using rhetorical appeals is that on average, having a college degree will lead to a higher income than not having one; however, it is not universally
Charles Murray argues in his paper, Are Too Many People Going to College?, whether or not students should go to college and if the students going to college are going for the right reasons. He believes people should head off to college to grow and become "capable and cultivated human beings" (Tyler, 2012). He also argues that these students are being geared toward a specific job in comparison to the liberal education that these individuals have received prior to attending college. Murray states that “everyone should have a liberal education rather than go to college” (Murray, 2008). Murray argues that students should know their skills and limitations before picking a job so one will be successful in that job. I agree with Murray because everyone
Caroline Bird writes the statement in her 1975 article “The Case Against College (Bird 15-18)” that not every high school graduate is ready to attend college. It is 2010 and this article is still valid today. Some of the college students I have been around were not mature enough for obedience school let alone college. A few of the points she makes in the article are: College has never worked its magic for everyone. Does it make you a better person? Are colleges responsible for your children? Are my children living in a country club? I will use some of my own experiences as an example of college life, as well as examples from my daughter’s college experience, along with my nephews as well. All to find the answer to the big question: Are you ready for a college education?
The Digital Age sparked the booming shift towards the media and entertainment for the past few generations. The current societal paradigm that technology has molded within many first-world, and even some third-world cultures, emphasizes the flourishing bond between the humans and technology. Although the status of the relationship between the public mass and technology has been seemingly ever-changing; it’s clear that the humans are becoming increasingly dependent on technology as it advances. To elaborate, as society advances, technology will follow, and the production of new machinery will eventually replace today’s conventional products. The essay, Are Too Many People Going to College, written by Charles Murray, touches on this subject and notions the possibility of the Internet taking over physical learning-institutions. With the rapid growth of technology, online learning will replace present conventional learning-institutions because of the current state of education,
In this society, almost every high schooler is told they need to go to college in order to be successful, but that is not necessarily true. Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill questioned if everyone needs college to be successful in their article, “Should Everyone Go to College?”. In the article, Owen and Sawhill discuss that even though college is very helpful for many people, but for some the benefits of a college education do not outweigh the costs. Owen and Sawhill discuss this and show the statistics on the pricing of college and general student success throughout the article. Overall, this article does a very well job showing ethical appeals with statistics, does an average job with emotional appeal, and does a very well job showing logic
As a young girl in school, I always believed that I would one day would be successful and had the hope that a college education would assist me in being successful. I exceled in school even with circumstances such as hurricane Katrina and September 11 and had a thirst for knowledge. At the same time, the teachers that influenced me in life convinced me to attend college for the betterment of knowledge and a potential for a job or a career. However, those same teachers were teaching me textbook methods and no real on hand training that is essential in an education especially a college education. In "Vocation or Exploration? Pondering the Purpose of College”, Alina Tugend ponders the idea of college being either Vocation—job training— or Exploration learning. She starts off by referring to her oldest son is about to graduate high school, but quickly goes straight to the point of her essay with “What exactly is a university education for?” She provides answers such as college is a way to automatically receive a job if one majors in science, technology or a major that can be applied to a changing world that we live
They end up being basically unsavory conclusions. For instance, Murray cites a primary counter-point that more individuals ought to get a liberal education through college. Murray consciously can't help contradicting this, saying, “More people should be getting the basics of a liberal education…the places to provide those basics are elementary and middle school,” (Murray 223). Likewise, he expresses that the larger part of individuals imagine that the motivation to attend a university is a result of the social standard of getting a BA will consequently secure a job. Murray states, "There has never been a period in history when individuals with abilities not taught in school have been at such request at such high pay as today, nor a period when the scope of jobs has been so wide… discovering the top notch talented work is hard," (Murray 236). By introducing the counter argument, Murray sets his point, saying that school is not for everyone, and social standards have changed the correct beliefs of
Charles Murray was able to pose and answer the question about whether or not too many people are going to college. In his essay,"Are Too Many People Going to College," he argues that most students should not be going to college to attain a bachelor 's degree when their skills and interests lie elsewhere (240). Murray 's argument on this topic is felt strongly by him, he believes that going to college is helpful for those who have the academic ability to absorb a college-level education, it is the appropriate thing to push a student in that direction since they are likely to gain wisdom (238). On the other hand, there are students in America that learn their core knowledge from kindergarten through eighth grade and are set for their future.
If the article was written to people who had already completed college and were well into their careers, it would be a pointless essay. Same goes for if the essay was written for people who had no plans on ever attending college. This essay was specifically written for those who are either about to enter college or have opportunities to transfer still. The author wants the audience to make the best decisions on what kind of institution is best for receiving and retaining knowledge. He also wants future prospects to see that so much more happens in college than just learning and the overall experience as a whole is what shapes one into an intellectual person. This is seen through his comment when he communicates that while some “working adults pursuing clearly defined vocational programs” (Neem 93) may learn wonderfully in an online environment, overall “we must deepen our commitment to those institutions that cultivate a love for learning in their students” (Neem 94). He wants an audience that sees the importance of furthering their education in the right environment like he does. This audience along with an intellectual appeal complement each other well in this argument and lead to an overall good
Murray believes that students should receive a liberal education, yet they should not have to wait until college to do so (Murray 225). Murray states that a person should not be forced to obtain a college-level liberal education, simply because they are capable of doing so (Murray 228). On higher education, Murray says, “A large proportion of people who are theoretically able to absorb a liberal education have no interest in doing so.” (Murray 228). Regardless of the fact that a person fits the criteria enabling them to pursue a college degree, does not necessarily mean that they should, if they are not interested. It is more logical to teach students extensively before the time of college, instead of leaving out information and forcing them to attend a school (Murray 225). However, Addison disagrees with this ideology, and believes that a college education is essential to growing up.
...ing from 18 and older and an online survey in order to determine what people felt about college education. At the end of the survey they realize that a majority of the people felt that college education is worth their investment and a few felt it was not worth but rather costly, due to the debt they had to pay after their college degree. The article also emphasized that it is high time the government finds ways and means to cut the cost of college tuition so that people can changed their minds of not continuing with their education. The source contributes to my essay in a way that it gives the readers the idea to why people may or may not value college education. The information in the article is accurate and reliable because pew research center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world.
The argument about if college is worth it or not has been one of the biggest arguments throughout the media for decades. Students suffer a lot from the debts that they get from college and also the amount of studying that they do in college and when they graduate they ask themselves “is graduation from college really worth all the money that we paid and all the work that we have done?”
College is not for everyone, although, everyone should have some form of higher education. "Should everyone go to college?" is an essay meant to inform students of the pros and cons of going to college. Owens and Sawhill state that the cost of a college degree may not be worth the money that students put into furthering their education. In their article, Owens and Sawhill use three different rhetorical appeals; egos, logos, and pathos; to persuade the readers to think consciously about attending college. Their argument was effective because it forces the readers to look at the overall college experience in different aspects.