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Sydney Park
Writing 2010
Jennifer Courtney
A Conversation on Higher Education
For my synthesis map, I chose to break it up into two main overall conversations:
academic writing, and higher education. I found this to be the easiest way to break up and use all
of the writings. The writers in the academic writing conversation are Bartholomae and Irvin. The
writers in the higher education conversation are Kezar, Hacker & Dreifus, Bonewits & Soley,
Williams, Hanke & Hearn, David Foster Wallace, and Hurtado.
In the academic writing section, it is split in three different types. There is what
Bartholomae thinks, what Irvin thinks, and what they both talk about. Bartholomae writes about
how important language it. From his essay, Inventing the University, he writes,He has to learn
to speak our language, to speak as we do (Bartholomae 4). He thinks you need to manipulate
your audience; it will help to get your point across more effectively. In writing, you also need to
be creative in what you talk about and how you talk about it. Finally, the writing must be
seamless. This will be one of the best and most effective ways for you to get your message across
to your audience.
Another effective way to show you are a reliable source of information is by showing you
are well versed on a topic. Irvin writes about how writing must be well researched. You cant try
to explain or argue about something you do not know about. Irvin thinks your writing should be
sequential. Like any essay, the critical essay should have a clear introduction, body, and
conclusion, (Irvin 15). It has to make sense to your reader. Writing must be fair to all sides. You
lose credibility if you are not fair to all sides in the conversation. Irvin writes about how you

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must be unbiased and factual in what you write about. This too will add to your credibility.
Another way to increase your credibility is to keep the emotion out of your writing. Many
readers find it unprofessional to bring a lot of emotion into what you write about.
Both Irvin and Bartholomae talk about three different topics: appealing to your audience,
writing has purpose, and you need to assert and then support what you are talking about. They
both agree on all three things. You need to appeal to your audience to keep them engaged and to
help assert your point. They agree that your writing has purpose. Nobody writes to just write,
there has to be a reason for your writing and for your audience to read it. Lastly, by asserting and
supporting your writing, you help to make your claim more effective and get others to
understand your point of view and reasoning. Irvin says it the best, It is an argument, persuasion
essay that in its broadest sense MAKES A POINT and SUPPORTS IT. (Irvin 15)
Next, in the higher education section, I broke up the writings in two different ways. They
are split into common topics among writers; those are the blue bubbles. The colored dots in the
upper right corner tell what author is associated with that topic. The writings are also split into
four tiers. These tiers determine how important I think each topic is. For instance, a topic in tier
one is one of the most important points.
In the first tier I put, in my opinion, the three most important ideas: Students need more
social outreach, Universities are too focused on making money, and Students need to be critical
of the university. I feel like these three topics really culminate what many of these authors were
trying to communicate. Every single author discussed the idea that universities are too focused
on making money. Although many authors dont come out and directly say this, David Foster
Wallace and Hurtado never do, they hint at it by talking about the effects of the newfound focus
of the universities.

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The categories in the second tier are: Independent and economic institutions, Teachers
arent passionate and dedicated anymore, Business executives dominate the university boards,
and Exposure to diversity is crucial. One of the biggest problems in this tier is how business
executives dominate university boards. New crop of corporate leaders has proven to be more
assertive in directing university curricula and research in a business-oriented direction, (Hanke
& Hearn 88). This is such a big problem because the board has a large impact on the rest of the
university. Those boards have a strong influence on professors, classes, social activities around
campus, research, and the funding associate with them.
The third tier has three main ideas. These ideas are, Universities are focusing on too
many things, Student debt is rising, and Job growth not intellectual growth. These topics,
although seemingly unrelated, actually all intertwine. You see, because Universities are focused
on too many things, costs at the universities go up. This ultimately is increasing the student debt.
One of the universitys many focuses is now job growth; this takes away from the intellectual
growth that should be occurring.
The fourth and final tier has four topics: Athletics are used for promotion and money,
Advanced technology, Everyone is involved in the universitys problems, and More part-time
teachers, less full time. Even though these are in the lowest level, this does not mean they arent
important. Something all of these topics have in common is their direct impact on the students.
Students are affected by the culture of athletics at the school, the teachers on campus influence
them, students are utilizing the technology available to them on campus, and universities in one
way or another impact everyone.
2 Paragraph Synthesis Overview

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Bartholomae believes that language is very important in writing. This is seen through his
quote,they have to invent the university by assembling and mimicking its language
(Bartholomae 5). He also believes you must manipulate your audience, be creative, and write
seamlessly. Irvin however, believes writing is well researched, it is sequential, it is fair to all
sides, writing is unbiased and factual, and shows no emotion. This is seen through his idea that,
Clear evidence in writing that the writer(s) have been persistent, open-minded, and disciplined
in study. (Irvin 14). Both Bartholomae and Irvin believe that you must appeal to your audience,
writing has purpose, and you must assert and support your claims. In Irvins essay he says,
Writing the paper is never just the writing part. (Irvin 8) This proves that writing has a
purpose. Bartholomae states, He knew that university faculty would be reading and evaluating
his essay, and so he wrote for them. (Bartholmae 6) This shows how you write according to
your audience.
The central focus in higher education is becoming more and more controversial. Many
individuals share the idea that universities are too focused on making money. Higher education
is foregoing its role as a social institution and is functioning increasingly as an industry with
fluctuating, predominantly economic goals and market-oriented values (Kezar 430). Many
people have ideas on how to go about fixing this problem. Hurtado thinks linking diversity with
the central educational and civic mission of higher education (Hurtado 185) is how to help the
students overall experience. On the other hand some believe that professors must make an
effort to reach their students (Hacker & Dreifus, Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admission).
Some however feel that it is not the fault of the school, but the business leaders that have a
presence in the university. New crop of corporate leaders has proven to be more assertive in
directing university curricula and research in a business-oriented direction, (Bonewits & Soley

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88). Although many find problems with the focus on money, there are still others who believe
that they are still receiving a valuable education. David Foster Wallace speaks about how a
liberal arts education doesnt just teach you what to think, but how to think it. It broadens your
way of thinking. This kind of contradicts Hanke and Hearns idea that universities are simply
focused on getting the students in jobs rather than strengthening their intellectual growth (Hanke
and Hearn 19). Either way, all authors agree that something must change.

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Bibliography
1. Bartholomae, David. Inventing the University. Print.
2. Bonewits, Sarah and Soley, Lawrence. Research and the Bottom Line in Todays University.
Print
3. Hacker, Andrew, and Claudia Dreifus. "Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admission?" The
Chronicle of Higher Education. N.p., 11 July 2010. Web. 23 Aug. 2015.
4. Hanke, Bob and Hearn, Alison. Introduction: Out of the Ruins, the University to come. Print.
5. Hurtado, Sylia. Linking Diversity with the Educational and Civic Missions of Higher
Education. 2007. Print.
6. Irvin, Lennie L. What is Academic Writing? Print.
7. Kezar, Adrianna. Obtaining Integrity Reviewing and Examining the Charter between Higher
Education and Society. 2004. Print.
8. This Is Water. Dir. David Foster Wallace. Perf. David Foster Wallace. 2009.
9. Williams, Jeffery J. "An Emerging Field Deconstructs Academe." The Chronicle of Higher
Education. N.p., 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.