Rhetorical Analysis A college education is valuable and its quality is of the highest importance to most Americans. In his essay, “On the Uses of a Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students,” Mark Edmundson utilizes ethos, pathos, and logos to effectively deliver his argument that the current educational system, especially in college, revolves around consumerism which in turn has negatively impacted students, teachers, and universities in general. However, although Edmundson presents an overall logically sound argument, there are few instances throughout the article that may hinder the reliability of his claims to the audience. Throughout the essay, Edmundson establishes credibility for himself
Logos is the logic behind argument and establishes furthering credibility for the author. Edmundson utilizes logos in presenting his argument through his evidence of personal experience and providing explanations for the claims he makes. Edmundson’s argument begins with his observation of students having little interest in his class or any class for that matter. Edmundson proclaims “there’s little fire, little passion to be found” (325). With this statement Edmundson justifies why modern education is important to address and uses it as an introduction into his main argument. Edmundson then moves to discuss the reasoning behind why this lack of “passion” (328) in his students is detrimental to the college education system as a whole. As referred to earlier, Edmundson points out that college professors, afraid of their classes being cut, have been “loosening up” (329). This reasoning is has much logic behind it because with students becoming less interested in majors like English and History; these classes are difficult to remain filled and therefore would have a direct negative effect on the professors and schools themselves. This pattern of logic reveals Edmundson’s evidence for the claims he makes.
Following his evidence, Edmundson comes to his final conclusion by introducing the concept of consumerism. He explains that a world revolved