Our Graduates Are Rubes Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis on “Our Graduates Are Rubes” “Our Graduates Are Rubes,” written by Tom Nichols, introduces the idea that colleges are failing in their responsibility to teach critical reasoning and civic responsibilities (Nichols B3). As a result, instead of Americans putting an end to the rumors, they help them spread. Nichols believes this comes as a result of four specific problems with the college system today: “the pampering of students as customers, the proliferation of faux “universities,” grade inflation, and the power reversal” (Nichols B3). The author argues that because schools try too hard to make their campus feel like home and a place full of “experiences,” education is no longer a top priority for either the student or the
Naval War College and Harvard Extension School, as well as an author of several books. In writing “Our Graduates Are Rubes,” Nichols argues that the issues being experienced in America have to do with the failures of colleges. He wants to bring awareness to four specific areas in universities today, so that others too may help bring about necessary changes. The audience of this piece is primarily faculty of higher education. While the audience is fairly specific, there are vast differences among them. The variety of backgrounds, lifestyles, and experiences all play a part in the way faculty members respond to Nichols’ message. In addition, his audience will be composed of a wide range of ages and interests. This will likely affect their opinion of the piece. While it is hard to determine exactly what the exigence of this piece is, the 2016 election could be considered the “last straw.” The election of President Trump was what demonstrated the lack of critical reasoning in the American voters, forcing Nichols to sit down and write this piece. His constraints could be the small audience to which it was written and the fact that as individuals, his audience has very little authority to do anything about some of the issues mentioned. Through the rhetorical strategies of pathos, kairos, and ethos, the author hopes to persuade his audience to take action so that improvements can be made. While his kairos and pathos strategies are strong, his ethos is only somewhat effective due to his lack of credible sources. As a result, his message is only effective in persuading his audience to think because he fails to persuade them to take