College, for most of us, is a huge step. When you enter college, the most important decision you will make is what you will major in. What should you consider when deciding on your specialization? Family, social status, friends, religion, etc. Mark Edmundson discusses this topic in his essay “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here: A Word to the Incoming Class.” Mark makes it clear who his audience is when he mentions the words “incoming class,” so the freshman who is having the college experience right now. Use persuasion to convince the reader that college is about finding what interests you and not only understanding what you learn, but also questioning the responsibility for it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayAnalysis of Mark Edmundson's EssayWhen Mark begins his essay he says we have to "fight against the establishment" letting us know how you have to stand up for yourself nowadays because college administrators, including teachers, don't care about take care of you. The author also claims that students are very pushed by their father or mother. Universities want students to be “civic leaders” or “well-rounded students” or my favorite “people who know what the system requires.” Edmundson tells us that the influence others have on us can be positive but it can be terrible. This is one of the main reasons he encourages students to “fight” to be who they want to be, not what others want them to be. Edmundson did a good job achieving his goal using pathos, but he could have done better in terms of logos. The curiosity in its title, “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here: A Word to the Incoming Class” is enough to understand the reader's attention. It makes great use of diction and syntax to connect with the reader's thoughts and feelings. The title alone makes the audience intrigued enough to read more into the text and understand its deeper meaning. If the title wasn't interrogative but instead had more of a declarative or imperative sentence it wouldn't have the same impact. Edmundson combines really creative words in his essay, for example, he uses the words: “servants”, “slaves”, “undivided attention” which connects very well to his statement that “life is elsewhere”. He did a good job connecting the main point and making us understand that if you don't do what you love in college, everything else will be a series of boredom and boring life.