The article “Only Connect” written by William Cronon, endeavors to define the term liberal education and persuade readers to a similar view point. When writing, a balance between author, audience, and context is desirable. These concepts comprise the ‘rhetorical triangle’ a tool which is used to ensure effective communication through writing. Applying these principles helps structure an argument so the truth becomes immediately apparent to the audience. (Mindtools, 2017) Did Mr. Cronon accomplish this? His effort was obvious, he provides many opinions and details them at great length, but I don’t believe the result to be a perfectly balanced rhetorical triangle.
After reading the article one has no doubt about William’s views on what it means to be liberally educated. He has passionate opinions and freely shares them but provides little background about himself or why he would be qualified to provide them. In this regard, he neglects the length of triangle dedicated to establishing a writer’s credibility. This, combined with a lack of references used throughout the article leave me, the reader questioning why this person purposes to sway my opinion on the topic.
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The purpose of writing is to communicate. Which is the process by which meaning is created and exchanged. The author struggles with a juxtaposition between a conversational writing style and a sesquipedalian approach, which are both used extensively in this article. One full sentence casually states “There’s the rub.” which contrasts with high level vocabulary choices such as genuflect, indoctrinate, and parsing. Words of this caliper are liberally sprinkled though out and could impact both readability and understanding of readers who do not already possess an advanced vocabulary. If the person who reads your writing doesn’t understand what you are trying to say, no communication occurs. (dailywritingtips,