Summary

“Stanford University” by YS is licensed under Unsplash.

On its website, Stanford University introduces its programs and history since they were founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in memory of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr.  From their reputation and campus introduction, Stanford University holds creative, outstanding, and demanding curriculums that promote entrepreneurialism. This proves Stanford University, “the Harvard of the 21st century” by Slate, to be the best university out there for those selective students who want to pursue an impressive education, capable of nurturing “a strong venture culture.”

                                         Analysis

Stanford University uses ethos and imagining ideal readers to persuade their readers. They write the website “Stanford University” on the Wikipedia page to convey they are the best university compared to other universities. To persuade their greatness to the reader, Stanford University provides facts that increase their reputation in the world of education.

As of ethos strategy, Stanford University provides evidence of when Frederick Terman, father of Silicon Valley, supported the local industry entrepreneurialism at Stanford during its time in financial crisis back in World War II (SU, Introduction). The support he made to the students and faculties led to the foundation of the greatest cradle of innovation called Silicon Valley. This story uses the ethos strategy by increasing the credibility of Stanford University.

“Stanford University” by daybreakwithray is licensed under Unsplash.

As of April 2021, Stanford has produced lots of notable people which includes “85 Nobel laureates, 29 Turing Award laureates, and eight Fields Medalists” (SU, Introduction). It shows the success of its students, alumni, faculty, and staff which causes people to believe that entering this school will make them notable as well. This makes the university trustworthy in an education matter.

Further from those successful ones, there are companies such as Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Instagram, Cisco, Snapchat, and Coursera which are built with a closer association to Stanford University (SU, Businesses and entrepreneurship). This implies that Stanford University has the resources and culture to help people succeed, which makes the university attractive to start-ups. These appeal to the readers which increases the authority and credibility of the school using ethos strategy.

“Stanford University” by Jeremy-Bezanger is licensed under Unsplash.

Moving on from science, Stanford has also built a reputation in athletics. According to Stanford University, “[They] have won 137 NCAA team championships, more than any other university, and were awarded the NACDA Directors’ Cup for 25 consecutive years, beginning in 1994–1995. In addition, by 2021, Stanford students and alumni had won at least 296 Olympic medals including 150 gold medals” (SU, Athletics). These victories show that Stanford is the right place for those who want to pursue athletics as a career. This fact persuades students who want a good experience in athletics because the school has good credibility in the sport.

Furthermore, Stanford used imagining ideal readers, who are likely to be convinced by the idea that Stanford University is a good fit for them, strategy to persuade their readers. In their overall argument, they have created an image that creative, hardworking, and outstanding are their ideal prospective student. However, in a paragraph sense, Stanford has proposed the type of student they are expecting.

According to Stanford, the six-year graduation rate is about 20% higher than the four-year graduation rate because of the university’s coterminal program which provides students with a master’s degree by extending 1-2 years from their undergraduate degree (SU, Student body). Most of Stanford’s undergraduates choose a coterminal degree that helps them get their master’s degree by increasing their graduation year by one. This idea puts an imaginary ideal reader of whom want to complete their master’s degree by using the coterminal degree program Stanford provides are most of their students.

When spanning our attention to the social group, Stanford has a “Groups span athletics and recreation, careers/pre-professional, community service, ethnic/cultural, fraternities and sororities, health and counseling, media and publications, the arts, political and social awareness, and religious and philosophical organizations” (SU, Student groups). Social groups at Stanford are vast, making it easy to find one interest among them. But what makes Stanford’s social group interesting from other universities/colleges?

“Stanford University” by Jeremy-Bezanger is licensed under Unsplash.

In contrast to other colleges, Stanford has a policy that any individual interested in a group must have an open opportunity to join the club (SU, Social group). A policy that abides with their motto “The wind of freedom blows” (SU, motto). Stanford, in contrast to other colleges, is a great place to join a group of one’s interest without the restriction from its group members. This provides an image of Stanford’s strong community and a collaborative environment culture which in turn provides their imagining ideal reader while writing this website.

As evidence for the freedom of social groups, Stanford is home to a set of student journalism publications like The Fountain Hopper which tells about the Brock Turner story that reports about the sexual attempt of a freshman man to a sophomore woman at Stanford University (SU, Student group). Stanford is a place where freedom of speech is not restricted. The use of this sentence is intended to provide an imaging ideal reader for students who want to be a journalist and have journalist experience in a university that respects their freedom of the press.

When all is said and done, Stanford University uses ethos and imagining ideal reader strategies to persuade its ideal prospective students that it is the best university out there. Stanford uses ethos to increase its credibility to be trustworthy in the further details it provides. Furthermore, they use imagining ideal readers to increase students who apply to the university.

                                      Response

When I was a child, I was optimistic about the future since friction in life was rare. But as I began to grow up, it became harder to believe the future is promising because of all the challenges I have to face. Nevertheless, I believe that even if there is a challenge coming my way, if I have the “audacity to hope”, I can see a light in the darkness.

Stanford University holds a similar value. The university stayed optimistic even at the time of its financial crisis period in 1893 when the founder, Leland Stanford, died. This demonstrates the fact that the university stayed firm despite its challenges.

“Stanford University” by Allen Gong is licensed under Unsplash.

They did that by supporting the local industry to be entrepreneurs. Now, they have become a great place for innovation that changed the game for the whole world. Google, for instance, was a research project created and funded by Stanford University. Now, Google gives us information from any place on the earth as long as we are connected to the internet or not banned by the government.

As a student, I am enthralled by a university that has a culture of hope in the things they do. A belief in a good and bright future is the value I want to see from a university that I could possibly attend. So, if given the chance to attend this great university, I would not turn a blind eye to make this decision, I would join Stanford University.

                                 Works Cited

“Stanford University.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Mar. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University.