ipl-logo

Summary Of Charles Murray Are Too Many People Going To College

1423 Words6 Pages

Too many people are receiving degrees while their ideal profession does not involve extraneous education. In the article, “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, Charles Murray uses the maxim of quality and conveys his opinion intending to persuade his vast audience, whom can be inferred as upcoming, or presently, college students along with their parents and educational administrators; such as teachers and guidance counselors. Through the use of a simply structured article with equally understandable syntax and diction, his hidden meaning could not be more obvious of an ideology, however, he is not infallible, he also violates the maxim of quality, assuming his audience knows more than they truly do and at times, flouts the maxim of manner …show more content…

Having this knowledge, the maxim of manner is evident, delivering his argument in a common, simple language. This solidifies an understanding through a diverse audience, ensuring a clear article regardless of what level of intellect reads it. Successfully, he also flouted the maxim of manner on page 239. He discusses a student of the top few percentiles who can be assumed to enjoy reading Paradise Lost would also enjoy doing “double acrostic puzzles” in their spare time. “Double acrostic” is not a term that generally comes up in normal conversation, more frequently it would be replaced by the synonym, “crossword.” He chose this heightened vocabulary because of the context, showing the intellect of a collegially worthy …show more content…

These examples draw confusing conclusions. Personally knowing that you can be accepted into some of the top colleges in the country, and also being in the 80th percentile, Murray speaks degradingly about students undeserving of his unsupported statistics. Also through these exhibitions, author’s bias is evident. Murray believes that the most prestigious go to college. By most prestigious, it can be assumed that if a student were not in the top few percentiles of academic ability, then they fall under the category of being in need of concentrated training for their career and not capable of successfully handling extraneous

Show More
Related
744 Words | 3 Pages

Samantha Nyborg LEAP Writing 2011-05 September 15, 2014 Critique Draft Megan McArlde is a journalist and blogger who focuses most of her writing on things like finance, government policy, and economics. In her article “The College Bubble,” a magazine article published in Newsweek on September 17, 2012, McArlde writes about how the “Mythomania about college has turned getting a degree into an American neurosis” (1). She focuses a lot on the value of getting a college education, and makes an argument that all the time and money spent on earning a degree may not be worth it in the end. McArlde uses several strategies to appeal to her reader’s, and does a great job of effectively using the Logos, Pathos, and Ethos appeals throughout her article.

Read More
282 Words | 2 Pages

Summary: “Are Too Many People Going to College” In the article “Are Too Many People Going to College,” writer Charles Murray explains that more people should be going to college instead of fewer. Murray states most people should get the basics of a liberal education and that begins in elementary and middle school.

Read More
161 Words | 1 Pages

In Should The Obama Generation Drop Out Charles Murray talks about the flaws found in the Obama education plan . He brings to the attention of the public the fact that many student in America graduate lacking the skills necessary for the proper college education. Murray goes on to argue that in today 's society students who graduate from High-school go on to technical college to pursue a vocational education in their field of study; whereas, older generations have pursued an all around education, enrolling in classes that were irrelevant to the career they were pursuing. Murray claims that if you test the vast majority of Americans (including himself) in the more rigorous subjects, they would most likely fail. Murray mentions that he does

Read More
1586 Words | 7 Pages

Many people claim that in today's world, everyone needs a B.A. for a job, leading to more people attending college; which Charles Murray argues in his essay, “Are Too Many People Going to College?” He also discusses how core knowledge shouldn't stop at 8th grade, but be continued into high school. Making a point that people are forcing students to go to college, to get the education they should have had in high school, to get them to earn a B.A. I see where Murray is coming from, and I agree with him that in many schools we need to continue core knowledge past 8th grade. In my time at high school though, I didn't notice a lack in that, we had a writing class that could help us compose a story, a ton of math classes to choose from, and also

Read More
544 Words | 3 Pages

The authors’ emphasis on “on average” is very effective at showing how their point makes sense and why it should be taken into consideration. I found the way that the authors focused on the minority more than the majority was skillfully effective at showing how some career paths do not require a college education and that the return in investment would not be worth the cost. Throughout their argument I found the writers to mostly use Logos and Ethos in their writing. The Logos is evident by the way they use statistics and the Ethos by how they state telling someone the only way to be successful is to go to college is a disservice. This is effective at making the reader think about how this should affect the decision of going to college and whether they should push someone to go to

Read More
752 Words | 4 Pages

“On average, college graduates make significantly more money over their lifetime than those without a degree… What gets less attention is the fact that not all college degrees or college graduates are equal. ”(pg.208 para. 1) Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill are senior researchers at Brookings’ Center on Children and Families, Sawhill is also a senior fellow in economics study at Brookings’. Owen and Sawhill authored the essay, “Should everyone go to College?” The authors use a wide variety of rhetorical devices in the essay, including ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade their audience to take another look at whether college is the right choice for them.

Read More
704 Words | 3 Pages

Over the years, the loss of credibility in the once widely propagated benefits of a higher education degree has become heavily criticized by avid education reform advocates. Political writer, social critic, and essayist, Barbara Ehrenreich, in her satirical essay, "College Students, Welcome to a Lifetime of Debt!", ironically exposes the consequences of the ever-increasing cost of education on post-secondary students ' societal role as debtors. Ehrenreich’s purpose to provoke her audience, mainly comprised of college students and their parents, into questioning the condescendence and despicable practices of post-secondary institutions is achieved through the employment of a sarcastic and humorous tone. By means of an appeal to pathos, the author clearly communicates all of her points and intentions, as well as brings out the eye-opening absurdity in this ever so trivialized situation. Nevertheless, the lack of supporting statistical evidence, alongside the overuse of commonsense and fallacious arguments, undercuts the essay 's effectiveness and the credibility of Ehrenreich 's arguments.

Read More
878 Words | 4 Pages

Matthew Hanson CO 150-003 Nora Gordon 22 September, 2014 Originally published in the Oxford American in August 2011 is the essay “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?” and republished in Ethics in Higher Education; written by Mark Edmundson, a tenured Professor of English at the University of Virginia. In Edmundson’s essay he explores more than the thought that college is more than the beginning of a new life and a career in the end. Edmundson asserts his idea that students think going to college is just for academics and good grades that will land them a high paying job after graduation.

Read More
955 Words | 4 Pages

In my opinion, I agree with Murray’s claim that four year college is not worth, job satisfaction for intrinsic reward, and the dark side of the Bachelor's degree. In my view, Murray’s is right, because college requires student to take 32 courses in four years or longer and not all courses are relate to the field they study with. More specifically, I believe that four years college will take more time to achieve our goal and knowledges doesn’t teach us how to make a living in our society. Murray described in his article, “More people should be getting the basic of a liberal education. But for most students, the places to provide those basics are elementary and middle school” (235).

Read More
869 Words | 4 Pages

“3 Reasons College Still Matters” by Andrew Delbanco 3) “Surely, every American college ought to defend this waning possibility, whatever we call it. And an American college is only true to itself when it opens its doors to all - the rich, the middle, and the poor - who have the capacity to embrace the precious chance to think and reflect before life engulfs them. If we are all serious about democracy, that means everyone.” 4) In this part of the writing Andrew Delbanco tries to persuade his audience by using the pattern of logic that agrees with the overall argument but also considers another striking point of view to strengthen the argument (While these arguments are convincing, they must also consider…).

Read More
983 Words | 4 Pages

Not everyone is suited for college, some people have different interests and abilities. Murray describes the struggle of college classes, and introduces possible problems if you do not have an IQ above 100. He claims that a four year college teaches information on a level that exceeds the intellectual capacity of most people. He then continues on to explain that even if someone does not do well in college they

Read More
680 Words | 3 Pages

In “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Charles Murray offers his opinion on the number of students that pursue a B.A. He believes that two year or four year colleges are not needed for a majority of students who could instead pursue other life paths. He discusses the ability for the general knowledge needed to be learned in primary and secondary school, and for a lessened need for a “brick-and-mortar” institution the problems with the current secondary and higher educational issues including the lessened need to acquire a B.A. All members of society need certain skills in order to be productive members of society. They need to know general facts about the country they live in, general history, and general geography.

Read More
2121 Words | 9 Pages

From a surface level, it seems as if Charles Murray presents a logical solution to a problem with a valuable argument to back it up. Diving deeper, I realized that this was far from the case. Not only do I not agree that the traditional college system should be completely abolished, but Murray presents a very weak argument to attempt and justify his conclusion. I do not agree with Murray because there are many careers in the world where education plays an extremely important role. For example, doctors go through years upon years of education, learning everything from the littlest things about the body to the way that those things should be treated.

Read More
786 Words | 4 Pages

In Charles Murray’s essay “Are Too Many People Going to College,” he believes that the concept of college has changed over the years. According to him, a four-year college is no longer as necessary as it was when it was first created because most jobs requires more on job training. He also adds to his reasoning by mentioning that because of the advancement of internet, physical libraries and the physical proximity of student and teachers is less important. Because of the changes he noticed he believes that people should go to college but not for liberal education. He makes the claim that the basic core knowledge of liberal education should be learned in elementary and middle school and that only people with high academic abilities should be encouraged to go to college.

Read More
913 Words | 4 Pages

For example, he gives an example of a woman who is in the 98th percentile of academic ability and wants to become a lawyer and then be in the political office. To Murray, it’s only right for her to continue her liberal arts degree because in the long run the liberal education will have value and benefit her. However, he explains that “The only reason we can get away with pushing her is that the odds are high that she will enjoy it” (Murray 238). Murray strongly believes that people should do what they are good at, and not what society wants them to do just to get a high paying

Read More

More about Summary Of Charles Murray Are Too Many People Going To College

Open Document