Schalmo 1

Grace Schalmo

Professor Bazzell

English Composition 1

31 October 2021

Comparing Success Articles

We often read through articles and focus on the content, on what the author wants us to

know or understand. What we do not do is study the rhetorical components authors may use to

help us comprehend the information better or be influenced more. Focusing on two specific

articles; “Employers Say Students Aren’t Learning Soft Skills in College” by Dana Wilkie and

“Don't Ask ‘Is College Worth It?' Ask ‘Which College Degrees Are Worth It?’ Instead” by

Andrew Gillen, we delve into the rhetorical aspects of informational and argumentative writing.

Both Wilkie and Gillen have significant similarities like good logical examples and evidence that

affects the emotions and values of the reader, as well as strong supporting evidence they use to

back up their main points.

In Dana Wilkie’s article, “Employers Say Students Aren’t Learning Soft Skills in

College,” she is writing an informational online piece for the Society for Human Resource

Management. Wilkie’s purpose of the article is to explain how students are lacking in job skills

and how college curriculum has not been of any help to the issue. Wilkie’s thesis is while college

education is supposed to give us the ‘soft skills’ needed for business life, many college graduates

are entering the work force without them. . Wilkie’s major points are employers’ inability to find

employees with soft skills, the shift of college curriculum to more liberal arts and technological

focus, and the teaching of book smarts as opposed to real life skills. Wilkie’s intended audience

is most likely students going into college and their parents The article’s information is not
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exactly giving a "warning" about college, but it is giving us information that would be important

to know when looking into it. Wilkies indicates bias by gathering her data based on opinions

from Eric Frazer, who has children affected by the technological factor of soft skill decline,

allowing him to look past all other factors. In Dana Wilkie’s, “Employers Say Students Aren’t

Learning Soft Skills in College,” she quotes Chris Kirksey, stating, “What's so great about a

degree in something if you only know about it, and not how to teach it, use it, or understand why

people want or need it?"(Wilkie).

In Andrew Gillen’s article, “Don't Ask ‘Is College Worth It?' Ask ‘Which College

Degrees Are Worth It?’ Instead,” he is writing an argumentative piece online for RealClear

Education about the pros and cons of college decisions. Gillen’s purpose of the article is to argue

the viewpoints of individuals who believe college is worth it, as well as the viewpoints of those

who do not. Gillen’s thesis is people everywhere have been arguing for years if college is worth

all of the time and money spent on it- some argue it is, and some argue it is a waste. Gillen’s

major points include that many students who have started college do not complete it and

statistical averages can be misleading when looking into college. Some other points he focused

on were the fact that his question does not have a simple answer because every person is in a

different situation and college students should be provided with more resources to look into

certain things. Gillen’s intended audience is really anyone who is considering a college

education, so they can be warned about certain aspects of the decision. The ideal reader is either

an incoming college student or the parents of one. Gillen indicates bias by including information

on the TPPF webtool and how it can be used to assist college students. Even if it is helpful, there

could be more useful tools out there. But because the author is a part of the program that created

the webtool, he could be biased. In Andrew Gillen’s, “Don't Ask ‘Is College Worth It?' Ask
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‘Which College Degrees Are Worth It?’ Instead,” he argues, “With no consistent answer to the

‘is college worth it’ question, a much better question is “which college degrees are worth it?”

(Gillen).

Both Dana Wilkie and Andrew Gillen have striking similarities and contrasts when it

comes to evidence affecting the emotions and values of the reader; their remarkable equal value

is determined by citing and diction. It can be compared how the emotional evidence is used,

though it may be in different ways, to strengthen the argument. In Dana Wilkie’s “Employers

Say Students Aren’t Learning Soft Skills in College,” she states, “I think it's because they've

been 'digitalized' at a very early age and taught to believe the best way to solve a problem is to

go to a machine and find your solution, instead of to another person” (Wilkie). Wilkie uses

diction to affect the emotions of her audience throughout her reading, specifically making it clear

the digitalization issue is affecting people “at a very early age” and going to a “machine” should

not be the way to solve our problems. Wilkie’s use of these specific words or phrases attempts to

make the audience feel as if they should make a change when it comes to their or their child’s

digital usage, and maybe seek different forms of support other than just technology. For

example, Wilkie constantly brings up the idea that instead of going to each other for support, we

go to technology. Wilkie uses her own opinion, with certain diction regarding it, to justify her

thoughts on the situation. In Andrew Gillen’s “Don't Ask ‘Is College Worth It?' Ask ‘Which

College Degrees Are Worth It?’ Instead,” he claims, “Around 40% of four-year college entrants

haven’t graduated after 6 years'' (Gillen). Gillen uses citing and statistics to affect the emotions

of the readers, pulling data either he, as a reliable source, already knew or he got from another

source. Gillen’s use of citing his information specifically not only makes the reader realize how

significant the information really is, but also it is reliable and clearly crucial to the argument. For
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example, Gillen’s citing of the shocking information proves his own credibility while allowing

readers to see the truth about a situation and trust it is true and important to consider when

looking at certain situations. It is often found success thrives on a strong foundation, and credible

information as well as certain paths and patterns can allow us to build on that foundation and

make it even stronger.

Both Dana Wilkie and Andrew Gillen have striking similarities and contrasts; their

remarkable equal value is determined by their inserting. It can be compared how the authors used

logical evidence in the form of inserting statistics to support the information in their articles. In

Dana Wilkie’s “Employers Say Students Aren’t Learning Soft Skills in College,” she expresses,

“Nearly 3 in 4 employers say they have a hard time finding graduates with the soft skills their

companies need” (Wilkie). Inserting the statistic that (delete) “nearly 3 in 4 employers” struggle

with these common issues gives the audience an idea and possibly a visual of really how many

people are lacking these soft skills. Statistics are one of the best uses of evidence, as they help

the audience put things into perspective and understand the situation as a whole. Wilkie’s use

deepens the reader’s understanding of the content, as numerical information is seen as logical

evidence proves to benefit the readers tremendously. In Andrew Gillen’s “Don't Ask ‘Is College

Worth It?' Ask ‘Which College Degrees Are Worth It?’ Instead,” he states, “Those with a

professional degree earn on average $55,000 more per year than bachelor’s degree recipients.”

(Gillen). Inserting the statistic about how those with a professional degree can make on average

$55,000 more annually than those with a bachelor’s degree can help the audience understand

what the author is arguing about if law school is worth it or not. Gillen’s choice of statistic may

help college students or those considering a certain degree see they might want to look down a

different path. It was a logical idea to include it on Gillen’s part, as it can prove to be beneficial
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to many lost students. The information about the $55,000 difference between degrees comes

from College Board’s Education Pays report, which makes it credible and therefore a logical

example. Gillen and Wilkie’s uses of logical evidence and examples through statistics allows the

audience to see success is not always best achieved through the more commonly followed path.

If enough research is done and it is understood what is being found in an education, guidance in

the right direction will come easy.

Both Dana Wilkie and Andrew Gillen provide strong supporting evidence for the

audience through visual displays and punctuation. Comparing both author’s use of rhetorical

devices shows how they strengthened the supporting evidence of their arguments. In Dana

Wilkie’s “Employers Say Students Aren’t Learning Soft Skills in College,” she queries, “How

would you describe the process of finding qualified applicants whom your organization values?”

(Wilkie). Wilkie’s question here is accompanied by a series of graphs indicating information

about what the author is trying to prove through her argument. These questions and graphs help

clarify and guide the audience. The visual displays presented in Wilkie’s reading allow the

audience to comprehend and understand the content of the article better, as well as learn

something they may not have known or apply themselves to the information. These illustrations

go into a deeper description of the statistics originally stated, which provides the audience with

more logical and meaningful information and examples. In Andrew Gillen’s “Don't Ask ‘Is

College Worth It?' Ask ‘Which College Degrees Are Worth It?’ Instead,” he declares,“With this

new data, it is clear the “yes, but…” crowd was right and there is no one-size-fits-all answer to

the “is college worth it” question” (Gillen). Gillen uses different forms of punctuation to

demonstrate logical examples of evidence throughout his article. The chose punctuation style

makes for stronger support of the thesis and better understanding for the audience. Gillen’s
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multiple uses of a variety of punctuation, including ellipses and question marks, allow for the

reader to apply their own thinking to the situation or ask themselves the questions stated in the

article. Gillen’s punctuation strengthens the argument and proves to be strong evidence because

it also allows the reader to interact with the reading. They can answer these questions or follow

the thought processes to better understand Gillen’s argument. Strong evidence is not always seen

through basic information such as statistical evidence, it can also be shown through illustrations,

visual displays, and use of punctuation. The list of examples of how strong evidence presents

itself is endless.

Dana Wilkie and Andrew Gillen’s understanding and use of rhetorical devices throughout

their articles provides a better view for the reader and allows them to see more clearly how they

might achieve success. Logical examples, emotional evidence, and strong supporting evidence

all proved to have benefitted the authors’ arguments and allowed them to express their ideas

thoroughly. Their ideas of success were portrayed in ways which opened minds and forced

audience members to think outside the box and apply information to their own lives.

Works Cited

Gillen, Andrew. “Don't Ask ‘Is College Worth It?' Ask ‘Which College Degrees Are

Worth It?’ Instead.” RealClearEducation, 2016 RealClearEducation.com, 6 May 2020,

https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2020/05/06/dont_ask_is_college_worth_it_a

sk_which_college_degrees_are_worth_it_instead_110414.html

Wilkie, Dana. “Employers Say Students Aren't Using Soft Skills in College” SHRM,

2021 SHRM. 21 October 2019. https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-

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topics/employee-relations/Pages/Employers-Say-Students-Arent-Learning-Soft-Skills-in-

College.aspx
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