Rhetorical Analysis

Hillary Hines

English 111

19 January 2013

Rhetorical Analysis: Dancing with Professors

            “Dancing with Professors: The Trouble with Academic Prose” by Patricia Nelson Limerick, proposes that academics direct their writings to benefit both specialist and non-specialist audiences. In doing so, both parties would be able to engage in open discussions and have a broader understanding of academic writings. Limerick suggests that academics believe writings which are unintelligible, indicate sophistication. (pg. 120) This is a completely misguided assumption, on the part of the academics. If students are unable to decipher what they are reading in their studies, then there is no way for them to absorb the knowledge shared in the piece. Limerick’s views on academic prose are relatable to any experience a student may have had in a college class-room. Limerick supports her theories with creative, but valid, evidence and comparisons which allows her audience to be completely immersed by her message.

            Limerick directs her audience’s attention to the dull impact that academic sentence structures induce. Limerick pusher her audience into the mind of what a student may feel while reading these sentences, “These words and ideas are nearly suffocated. Get them air!” (pg. 121) By doing this, Limerick has created a sense of relation between the reader and the frustrated student. In a college setting, it is not unheard of to commonly run into long, suffocating sentences which cause a student to panic. I believe Limerick’s ability to push her audience into the mind of another, is one of her strongest weapons in this piece. If a reader can relate to the writing, then they can be inspired and changed by its message. This allows Limerick to express her message loud and clear to her audience, keeping their undivided attention until the end of her article.

            Limerick proceeds to place professors and students on equal academic ground, stating, “Everyone knows that today’s college students cannot write, but few seem willing to admit that the professors who denounce them are not doing much better.” (pg. 121) Limerick took away the separate titles of “professor” and “student,” and instead, proclaimed both parties as victims to the unintelligible nature of academic prose. If a professor is unable to understand academic writings in class, then the professor is unable to translate the message clearly to their students. In turn, students will be unable to respond to the academic writings; which they use as a reference for the class in the first place. By Limerick creating an equal ground between students and professors, she enabled her audience to understand that professors are not the enemy, but victims, as well to an awful writing style.

            By far, the best argument made in Limerick’s piece was a quote she had heard from a Classics professor, “We must remember…that professors are the ones nobody wanted to dance with in high school.” (pg. 122) This message causes a reader to be drawn into the piece, due to its humorous conduct, in order to discover the purpose behind this quote. Limerick goes on to explain this entertaining quote, “Professors are often shy, timid, and even fearful people, and under those circumstances, dull difficult prose can function as a kind of camouflage.” (pg. 122) Limerick is explaining that no one can question the professor’s opinions of message because no one can begin to comprehend what is being communicated in the professor’s writings—hence camouflage. The professor is able to hide his/her ideas effectively from their audience due to fear of being questioned or ridiculed for their observations. In this case, Limerick was able to entertain her audience, while accurately coaxing out the idea of academics hiding behind their writings due to their own insecurities. 

            I believe, Limerick communicated her theories effectively to her audience. I think Limerick wanted to inform her audience that they are not any-less intelligent for not understanding the complexity of academic prose. I think she also wanted her audience to comprehend the fact that academics write the way they do in order to avoid criticism and to make themselves appear as if their intelligence surpasses that of non-specialists. In my opinion, academics do this because they still hold onto the mentality, and insecurities, of a high school boy/girl, too shy to ask another to dance. Academically, specialists fear having attention drawn to them, just as they did in high school. I think it is appropriate to end this paper with Limerick’s quote: “We must remember…that professors are the ones nobody wanted to dance with in high school.” (pg. 122)

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Limerick, Patricia Nelson. "Dancing with Professors: The Trouble with Academic Prose." New York Times Book Review (1993).