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William Deresiewicz's Argument Analysis

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“If you want a good education, you need to have good teachers,” states William Deresiewicz, author of Spirit Guides (1). His article, published in Slate Magazine, was written with the purpose of redefining what college teaching is and the elements that constitute a good teacher. In order to promote his ideas and fulfill his purpose, Deresiewicz supports an enthymeme founded on the claim that teachers should challenge and care about their students, because that is what their students truly want and need (2,3). In his article, Deresiewicz starts off by pointing out how our society appears to be forgetting the important role of teachers in college learning. Teaching, in his opinion, is “a complex craft” in which the teacher acts on a more …show more content…

Deresiewicz adds to the credibility of his writing by providing first-hand examples from his experiences as a professor. For instance, he states, “My years in the classroom, as well as my conversations with young people about their college experience, have convinced me that there are two things, above all, that students want from their professors...” (3). By drawing on his own experiences, Deresiewicz becomes a model for his audience to look up to. Deresiewicz appears to be highly qualified to write about this subject. Following his essay, he provides a brief description of his credentials, including the prestigious institutions that he has instructed at, in case the audience wasn’t already aware (5). This serves to solidify the validity of his personal experiences as grounds for his argument. In addition to ethos, Deresiewicz also utilizes pathos to strengthen his claim. On page 4, he describes the relationship between teacher and student as memories and feelings that “can never go away,” for the “briefest thought revives them.” This is something the audience, being mostly teachers, can connect to. Another example of this is at the close of the article where Deresiewicz appeals to the audience’s emotions and leaves them feeling inspired: “You know great teaching the moment you encounter it… It reaches deep inside you. It satisfies desires that you didn’t know you had. It …show more content…

He only responds to a couple of counterarguments and does not appear to make any concessions. First, he refutes the common belief that students want their professors to entertain them and give out easy A’s (3). The only explanation that he provides against this is, “that’s what [students] retreat to, once they see that nothing better is on offer” (3). This reasoning seems to suffice when considering his intended audience, however a more general audience, such as the readers of Slate Magazine, may need additional evidence to satisfy them. Another counterargument that Deresiewicz covers is contrary to the idea that a teacher should talk to their students about their work. Rather, he feels that good teachers should listen to their students (3). Deresiewicz gives a bit more explanation for this idea, because he understands that it is something that will be a little more difficult for his intended audience to accept. In addition to these counterarguments, Deresiewicz’s argument may benefit from discussing other potential arguments, perhaps ones that might arise from general readers of Slate

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