Introduction
One of the major concerns of present-day students is their future success in the workplace, which is, unfortunately, not guaranteed by educational facilities. Therefore, Alina Tugend expresses her ideas in this respect as an affected person or, more specifically, a mother of a college graduate. In her article “What It Takes to Make New College Graduates Employable,” she shares both a personal perspective and the perceptions of representatives of big companies, thereby highlighting the fact that this situation is alarming. Thus, Tugend narrates about the problem of finding employment after college due to the lack of required skills and efficiently uses logical reasoning accompanied by emotional appeals and the emphasis on her authority.
Scenario and Context
In this piece, Tugend first describes the situation, which made her think about the challenges of young people in relation to career matters. She worries that the short-term work experience of her son will be insufficient for becoming a potentially good employee who can contribute to the business while possessing the required degree of independence (Tugend). Consequently, she conducts comprehensive research on the topic and refers to a variety of credible sources to underpin her conclusions on the need for cooperation between colleges and companies (Tugend). From the author’s point of view, it is the key to eliminating the problem for all participants in the process of employment and during work. Hence, this article is intended for all readers with similar concerns, and its purpose is to describe the challenges of college graduates looking for a job in detail and present the ways of overcoming them.
Claims and Appeals
Pathos
The above considerations are supported by various rhetorical devices, and one of the most critical appeals is pathos, which sets the tone for the whole article. In the beginning, Tugend writes that “my heart sinks every time I read a news story or opinion piece quoting employers,” thereby highlighting the importance of personal feelings in discussing the matter. The selection of this approach for starting the piece serves as an excellent hook, which explicitly determines the potential readers and their attitudes, guaranteeing the interest in reflecting on the subject. In this way, the emphasis on the link between the described challenge and the author’s life adds to the opinion that she presents herself as an authority in this case. Moreover, the inclusion of pathos refers to the vulnerability of affected persons in their professional pursuits. Even though this technique is not used in the continuation of the narrative, it is still powerful for addressing the mentioned purpose.
Logos
Another appeal is logos, and it helps Tugend prove her point when referring to extensive outside evidence. Thus, the objectivity of this article is ensured through the use of multiple sources, which correlate with the presented standpoint. The application of this rhetorical device starts after the introduction when the author cites the opinions of numerous researchers, representatives of various companies as potential employers, and other authorities (Tugend).
In addition, the credibility of the presented information is confirmed by the provision of the official data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics alongside the reports of different organizations (Tugend). All these facts are carefully incorporated in the text, which creates an impression of a thoroughly conducted analysis on the basis of reliable publications and interviews. This method is useful for explaining the grounds for the initial conviction in the worsening of the situation for recent college graduates. It also allows demonstrating the argument in the best possible light, and elaboration and deductive reasoning are suitable approaches for this objective.
Ethos
The final rhetorical device used by the author is ethos, and it is aimed at confirming her authority to speak about the subject as well as personal interest in the matter. This method is used alongside pathos at the beginning of this piece when she writes that “my older son graduated from high school last week and has started a pleasant job as a summer lifeguard” (Tugend). It underpins the emotional appeal or pathos by clarifying the existence of similar situations in other people’s lives. Subsequently, Tugend goes on discussing the involvement of family members in this problem by saying that “we hope the time there leaves him with great experiences.” This part shows that concerns of this nature are not attributed solely to the person experiencing challenges but his relatives as well. On this basis, Tugend proves her credentials to present the topic to the audience and highlights the shared values, such as care for one another and responsibility.
Conclusion
To summarize, the discussion of the issues in finding a job for college graduates is efficiently presented by Alina Tugend, who used numerous rhetorical devices for this purpose. Thus, pathos and ethos were included at the beginning of her article in order to prove the connection between the problems and the author’s personal life and draw the attention of individuals in similar circumstances. In turn, logos were incorporated in the body of this piece, and it allowed presenting multiple perspectives of people and entities cited throughout the text. Consequently, it can be concluded that the examined piece of writing is efficient in increasing awareness about young people’s struggles in the professional sphere.
Work Cited
Tugend, Alina. “What It Takes to Make New College Graduates Employable.” Gale Academic OneFile. 2013. Web.