Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Rhetorical Analysis
Rhetorical Analysis
Writing 2
dread. Most of the students do not know what they really want to do or whether they want to do
what they are supposed to. In his article titled “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?”
and published on Oxford American’s online magazine on August, 22, 2011, Mark Edmundson, a
teacher at the University of Virginia, discusses what students should do when they attend
college. He argues that college students should focus on self-discovery and self-fulfillment.
family members. He notes that getting a child to college is tremendous work with contributions
from various people; therefore going to college is a commendable thing. The author also adopts a
friendly tone to encourage incoming freshmen who often have wrong impressions of university
life and can benefit the most from his advice. Throughout his article, Edmundson attempts to
persuade students to follow their interests and spend time on self-exploration in order to lead a
struggle an strive, to be strong, and occasionally even to piss off some admirable people.” The
author also recalls a discussion between his father and him about his college choice. The story
adds a nice touch to the article as personal stories often resonate well with readers. It is important
to note that storytelling is a great way of communication that helps to engage with readers. In
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readers. By claiming that his father’s advice was true, Edmundson implies that people’s common
perceptions of what an university education should be are flawed. Then, the author moves to
present how differently university is perceived by students, professors and administrators and
explains the reasons behind these perceptions. However, in this particular part of the article,
Edmundson also discusses cheating and other inappropriate behaviors which have little to no
In order to further his idea about self-discovery, Edmundson counters the idea that
students should go along with everyone and try “to be someone other than who you are” and
dismisses it as “killing.” He goes on to explain that people opinions and even self-awareness can
be wrong and college is the perfect place to explore oneself. Consequently, Edmundson suggests
reading as a way of self-exploration. To explain its effects, the author cites Sigmund Freud and
Ralph Waldo Emerson as his influences and his inspirations to challenge and develop himself.
The author uses personal experience as evidence of how reading facilitates self-development.
Though anecdotal evidence is often unreliable, in this case, it seems to work in Edmundson’s
favor and gives readers a sense of encouragement. Edmundson gives a detailed, though
somewhat verbose, account of how he was shaped by the two writers’ works and learned to rely
with life. Once again, storytelling is effectively used as this story is emotionally charged and
provokes feelings of pity and gratitude. To be specific, readers might be inclined to feel pity for
the father that never got “a sense of who he might become” and gratitude to have “a world of
Finally, Edmundson urges readers who are incoming freshmen in this case to be
“aggressive and assertive” in order to acquire real education. He also points out that it is normal
to be scared of changes in career orientation. Edmundson knows his audience well; therefore, he
knows that with such a young and inexperienced group of people, it is understandable to feel
overwhelmed and lost when things they believe to be true turn out to be wrong. By showing
sympathy, the author’s efforts to relate to the audience seem to offer readers a sense of
consolation. With sarcasm, Edmundson also warns readers of potential risks of not following
one’s heart including substance abuse, unhappiness and excessive buying, which emphasizes his
idea that pursuing dreams makes life worth living in the long run. His use of sarcasm yields a
sense of lighthearted humor but, simultaneously, effectively critiques the way people use
alcohol, television, drugs, etc to deal with job dissatisfaction. Moreover, the author strengthens
problem. However, he asserts that it should not be the main problem and everyone should live
their own life rather than someone else’s. After all, life should be “pleasurable and soul-
rewarding.”
With his target audience in mind, Edmundson adopts a friendly humorous tone
and manages to be approachable and inspiring. For the incoming freshmen, this article can be
life-changing, given the common shared feeling of confusion before attending university. It is
safe to say that Edmundson successfully conveys his message that students should try to find
Works Cited
Edmundson M. Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?. Oxford American. 2011.
Available at: http://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/486-who-are-you-and-what-are-
you-doing-here. Accessed January 27, 2018.