Analysis of Mark Edmundson's "Who Are We and What Are We Doing Here"
Rhetoric and Composition
A1: Summary and Analysis
Final Draft
In Mark Edmundson’s article Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here, published in the Oxford American on August 22, 2011, he talks about his college experience and what others need to do in college to be successful. Getting an education is hard because there are too many distractions, but find something you enjoy doing or else you’ll be bored and work hard to become that. There are a lot of paths to choose from in life and going to college is one of the best to choose. Edmundson must also agree with this since he is pushing kids to try harder in school. However, Edmundson points out some very key points as to what students need to do.
There are not strict rules in most colleges. Most of them just demand the bare minimum and don’t hold students to a higher standard. Edmundson states, many colleges will just try to keep the peace and aren’t strict enough to force kids to do well. There are too many students to deal with so the fewer problems there are the less the university has to do. Teachers are lazy and make a pact with the students that if neither one works hard then things will work out (Edmundson). There are many teachers that see their job as just that. They put the time in and don’t care. “To get an education, you’re probably going to have to fight against the institution that you find yourself in” (Edmundson), there are many distractions and not many people there to help you out so it is mainly up to the student to push themselves to better their education. Teachers need to care about their students and about educating them the best they can.
College isn’t what it should be. Students nowadays are focused on having fun. They think college is a place of freedom where they can just do as they please and not care about their schooling, “Life is at parties, at clubs, in music, with friends, in sports” (Edmundson). Students have gained independence and feel like they must do crazy things. Or
A1: Summary and Analysis
Final Draft
In Mark Edmundson’s article Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here, published in the Oxford American on August 22, 2011, he talks about his college experience and what others need to do in college to be successful. Getting an education is hard because there are too many distractions, but find something you enjoy doing or else you’ll be bored and work hard to become that. There are a lot of paths to choose from in life and going to college is one of the best to choose. Edmundson must also agree with this since he is pushing kids to try harder in school. However, Edmundson points out some very key points as to what students need to do.
There are not strict rules in most colleges. Most of them just demand the bare minimum and don’t hold students to a higher standard. Edmundson states, many colleges will just try to keep the peace and aren’t strict enough to force kids to do well. There are too many students to deal with so the fewer problems there are the less the university has to do. Teachers are lazy and make a pact with the students that if neither one works hard then things will work out (Edmundson). There are many teachers that see their job as just that. They put the time in and don’t care. “To get an education, you’re probably going to have to fight against the institution that you find yourself in” (Edmundson), there are many distractions and not many people there to help you out so it is mainly up to the student to push themselves to better their education. Teachers need to care about their students and about educating them the best they can.
College isn’t what it should be. Students nowadays are focused on having fun. They think college is a place of freedom where they can just do as they please and not care about their schooling, “Life is at parties, at clubs, in music, with friends, in sports” (Edmundson). Students have gained independence and feel like they must do crazy things. Or
Cited: Edmundson, Mark. "Who Are We and What Are We Doing Here." Oxford American 22 Aug. 2011: 1-9. Oxford American. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.