Universal Exceptionalism Definition

Improved Essays
Author: Rebecca Schuman is a professor at the Ohio State University. She got her PhD degree at the University of California Irvine in 2010.
Audience: The readers of this article would be active because the website is a politically active website because the founder of the website is political activist.
Purpose/Goal: Schuman is trying to let the readers recognize the universal exceptionalism.
Medium: The article was published on a website called Huffpost. Huffpost is a abbreviation of Huffington Post. It is a news and opinion website dealing with politics, entertainment, and academia.
Setting: The setting of this article would be social. Schuman picked this topic because universal exceptionalism is becoming a big problem in the American universities.
…show more content…
Schuman employs rhetorical questions, evidence, and anecdote to persuade. Schuman posted this article to let audiences know about the universal exceptionalism among university students in the United States of America.
First of all, Schuman uses rhetorical questions in her article to persuade her audiences. For example, in paragraph two she mentioned “Is this because students are brighter, more inquisitive, and in all ways more exceptional than their peers even one generation ago? or is it simply because they have worn us down?”(Schuman). This question is not meant to be answered. The author is trying to make people to think simpler. She is trying to make her point about the students are not better than they were in few generations ago.
Secondly, Schuman uses evidences in her article to ensure she persuades the audiences. In paragraph six of her article she puts one of her experiences to prove the point. She said “In a class of 21, after the midterm, eighteen of them are currently in the “A”range…”(Schuman). This evidence can prove her point of the current students being a part of universal exceptionalism. It means that everyone is special and being less than best is a

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Introduction: Jay Heinrichs in the introduction to Thank You for Arguing “Open Your Eyes”, emphasizes how inescapable rhetoric is in everyday life as he proves the importance of rhetoric in daily livelihood. He supports his argument by observing that “We live in a dark world of persuasions.” (9). To further prove his point Heinrichs journals a his attempt of a day without persuasion of which he records that he could not even make it out of bed without being persuade to by his alarm clock. Hendricks further points out the effects of seduction in making a decision.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Section One, Intro/Offense: Jay Heinrichs points out how rhetoric is an incredibly useful skill that dates all the way back to being started by the ancient Greeks and perfected by the Romans. As time progressed in about the 19th century rhetoric increasingly became less popular and has not been a large part of education. Heinrichs would like to show to people just how important rhetoric truly is. Rhetorical arguments are all around us, as the author notices the company that makes his wrist watch uses a form of marketing called “argument from strength”, simply meaning if something works in the rough it will work in the smooth. Heinrichs leads into a vey important part of a rhetorical argument, persuasion.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The study of rhetoric today is dying. Thank You for Arguing wants to change that. By introducing rhetoric as a useful everyday tool Thank You for Arguing hopes to revive the mass knowledge and use of rhetoric in everyday conversations. Thank You for Arguing is an excellent book and by giving excellent examples combined with emotion and tools to use logic in an argument it excels in introducing such a vague concept as rhetoric and should have continued use in schools. Thank You for Arguing, written by Jay Heinrichs in February of 2007, brings rhetoric into another light that appeals to the common person that continues to hold a place on Harvard’s top 10 reading list because of its value.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Being a first-year college student, you are introduced to the idea of critical thinking early in order to gain intellectual knowledge for creating your own structure of writing. Not only is critical thinking an essential learning process, a student’s ability to understand a comparison of sources is especially imperative for a college education due to a variety of reasons. A rhetorical analysis not only explores the content of a given source, but it also refers to what the author is trying to portray to his or her audience. Learning about the skills of rhetorical analysis teaches you how to apply these comparisons and differentiate between types of writing such as a popular or scientific article. For instance, breaking down the context of a…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Over the last few months, I have read and annotated Thank You For Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson can teach us about the Art of Persuasion by Jay Heinrichs. After being a journalist and publishing executive for 25 years, Heinrichs is now the professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Middlebury College in Vermont and travels the world as a presenter and persuasion expert. Published in 12 languages and 3 editions, Thank You For Arguing is a New York Times bestseller, along with being one of the top ten books assigned at Harvard. My analysis of Thank You For Arguing made me uncover the lost art of rhetoric, the steps in creating an excellent persuasive speech, and identifying the three methods of persuasion in everyday arguments.…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The author states that most of the students do not desire to get a strong academic formation. When the essay states that “ In college, life is elsewhere”, Edmonson relates how students are more concerned about passing courses in college instead of learning important theory associated with their fields. I believe that this is a commonly seen event in colleges and as students we must be worried about working hard in our studies. Being lethargic throughout University results in cheating. The author claims how some students look for getting answers of an exam in a different way than learning from classes and lectures.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Competition is a driving force of nature, promoting growth and forcing us to be more creative. The concept of competition is a powerful idea that is crucial to everyday life. The economy and businesses are shaped by competitive and uncompetitive practices, driven by educational hierarchies, competition for Wall Street careers, and businesses for market shares and profits. In “Project Classroom Makeover,” “Biographies of Hegemony,” and “Rent Seeking and the Making of an Unequal Society,” written by Cathy Davidson, Karen Ho, and Joseph Stiglitz, respectively, all authors discuss the ideology that both competitive and uncompetitive behaviors shape the individuals of modern America. In America today, individuals seek to develop their skills to…

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Shamus Khan’s Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School is a excellent example of the sociological imagination at work. The book examines the school from all angles, from different perspectives, and compares it to the school’s earlier years. Kahn often includes anecdotal stories of specific students in between his sociological analyses which help bring the situation to life and provide a more in depth look at the student’s lives. C. Wright Mills, the American sociologist who claimed that the sociological imagination was being lost in most research, would have found Kahn’s book to be a rich examination of the culture of St. Paul’s School. I.…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rose, Mike. “What College Can Mean to the Other America.” The Mcgraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Gilbert H. Muller, 12th ed. , Mcgraw-Hill, 2014, pp.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every little kid has fallen at some point. Riding that bike, trying to balance on a beam or just plain bad balance. A mother would lean down and kiss the boo boo and tears away. But how many times would she do the same thing, making sure her child protected in the best way, not letting anyone hurt her baby? Eventually would she say that tears aren’t necessary?…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Outline Thesis: This kind of exceptionalism is what is being taught to students throughout the nation and is having a negative effect on both the ability to learn as well as the ability to comprehend US history. 1. Introduction of flawed educational system a. Flaunting American Lifestyle b. Future Generations c. Inaccurate version of US history 2. Problems of flawed system a. Global reputation at risk b. Role in politics c. Valued as priority 3. Effect on nation a. Nationwide dilemma b. Varies throughout states…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The search of identity is an issue familiar to contemporary society of 1963 when Betty Friedan published her feminist manifesto The Feminine Mystique. In “The Importance of Work” essay Friedan emphasizes the idea that humans should establish their identities on the basis of the “work” that satisfies their creativity. Friedan's wide range of wisdom that has spurred from her real- life experiences makes “The Importance Of Work” essay reasonable and powerful. In other words, Friedan's wealth of knowledge makes her a capable candidate to express her thoughts on the issue of “Work.” Precisely, she was an exceeding student who graduated from Smith’s College in 1942 with a Bachelor's degree.…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    From the beginning of recorded history, speeches have a tendency to be influential as they connect with their audience and illicit a specific thought or emotion. Continuing this custom, writer David Foster Wallace delivered his compelling commencement speech aptly titled, “Commencement Speech,” to an audience of students at Kenyon College in 2005. His purpose is to make the audience aware of our ‘default-setting’ of thinking. His ability to connect with his audience via word choice and the examples of everyday life he provides, proves his speech to be effective.…

    • 857 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When comparing the commencement speech given by Steve Jobs at Stanford University in 2005 to the commencement speech given by Barak Obama at Wesleyan University in 2008, one can argue that Steve Jobs’ address has a stronger use of the rhetorical situation and the rhetorical appeals. Jobs’ ability to combine ethos, pathos and purpose proves his credibility, builds a relationship with the audience, and helps students believe in their intuitions. In his 2005 commencement address to Stanford University, Steve Jobs incorporates ethos to prove his credibility to his audience. He begins by admitting that “[he] never graduated from college” (1).…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Last Week Tonight is a news/satire program hosted by John Oliver. During the program, Oliver discusses current events and attempts to persuade the general audience in his viewing. In the episode “The NCAA,” Oliver attempts to get the audience on his side about unfairly compensated Student-Athletes using logic, credibility, and emotion. This essay will analyze the effectiveness of his persuasive methods.…

    • 1508 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays