Minha Hossain

Professor Wilson

English 2150

5 November 2023

Self-Reliance in College: A Comparative Analysis

The concept of self-reliance in higher education is essential, serving as both a skill and a crucial mindset for students to navigate newfound freedom, independence, and responsibility. This essay undertakes a comparative analysis of two distinct sources. Alex Phuong’s narrative essay “Becoming Self-Reliant: A Lesson I Learned From College” shares an autobiographical account of the author overcoming initial struggles to gain self-reliance and maturity in college. In contrast, Kerry A. Schwanz et al.’s research article “Self-Reliance and Relations with Parents as Predictors of Anxiety and Depression in College Students” objectively presents an empirical study quantitatively analyzing self-reliance among college students. While both articles convey the importance of self-reliance in college, they employ distinct rhetorical strategies to present their arguments.

Phuong employs a personal narrative approach to convey his transformative personal experience intimately.  He provides nuanced characterization as he chronicles his emotional arc from an immature teenager struggling with freedom to a self-reliant adult. For instance, he candidly describes behaviors like being depressed and angry, struggling to make new friends, and not being able to do responsibilities early on. This honest portrayal helps readers build trust and invest in Phuong’s coming-of-age story. The choice to introduce this personal perspective immediately establishes an intimate, conversational tone and provides a relatable human perspective likely to generate an emotional response in readers.

In contrast, Schwanz et al. do not utilize narrative storytelling techniques or personal perspectives in their research article rather follow the conventional format of a psychology research paper. While the study does feature college students, these individuals remain anonymous and are characterized using aggregated statistical descriptions rather than as fully realized individuals. For instance, the article states: “The average age of participants was 21.83 (SD = 1.65).” The researchers exclude specific sensory details, settings, and chronological events in favor of general numerical representations befitting their scientific genre. Their tone matches and reinforces the scholarly nature of their quantitative analysis. While Phuong uses narrative as the substance itself, for Schwanz et al., the narrative is merely a tool used judiciously in service of academic aims.

A significant contrast between the two pieces is their rhetorical appeals to persuade readers. Phuong’s narrative primarily employs pathos by sharing vulnerable details about his struggles adjusting to college, including problems with loneliness, depression, weight gain, and dropping grades. His self-disclosure elicits empathy and understanding from readers who likely faced similar challenges. For example, Phuong describes the “infamous Freshman 15,” his “obsession” with McDonald’s, and the “greatest joy” of good health in tangible terms that are easy to visualize and connect with the character. Phuong highlights how he overcame these issues through cultivating self-reliance, inspiring readers to believe they can also learn to rely on themselves. His mentions of respected thinkers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and his college literature professor establish credibility, appealing to readers’ ethos. However, pathos is his dominant rhetorical appeal.

Conversely, Schwanz et al. rely heavily on logos by presenting copious statistical data and analysis, which logically proves the correlation between higher self-reliance and lower anxiety and depression in college students. Tables of regression analysis, correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations build academic authority. They also leverage ethos as university researchers publishing in a peer-reviewed journal to portray scholarly credibility. Their use of logos and ethos contrasts sharply with Phuong’s pathos-driven narrative. Schwanz et al. incorporate slight pathos when describing college anxiety and depression using words like “distress” and “impairments.” However, the style remains objective overall. The study uses precise, technical language like “hierarchical regression analysis” and “at-risk scores” alongside the detached third-person voice, emphasizing conveying factual information over persuading readers. Sentences like “self-reliance explained 27% of the variance ” typify the formal, data-driven prose (Schwanz, Kerry A., et al.).

Finally, the structural arrangements differ significantly. Phuong arranges his narrative chronologically to highlight his arc of maturation. Beginning with confessions of his initial struggles makes his later self-reliant transformation more impactful. Cause and effect relationships also emerge as Phuong links his early lack of self-reliance to problems like isolation and weight gain. In contrast, increased self-reliance later enables health and happiness. This order maximizes the inspirational impact of Phuong’s journey. Conversely, Schwanz et al. organize their article into conventional research sections. The introduction establishes background literature before the methods detail the study procedures. The results and discussion sections then impartially report and interpret the data. This predictable structure facilitates reader comprehension and reinforces the researchers’ scientific authority. However, it lacks the dramatic chronological build of Phuong’s narrative. These differing arrangements suit the respective aims – Phuong crafting an engaging personal tale, and Schwanz et al. methodically building an academic argument.

In conclusion, while both texts make compelling cases for self-reliance among college students, Phuong seeks to inspire while Schwanz et al. aim to scientifically prove their argument. Phuong’s intimate first-person perspective, emotional vulnerability, and chronological sequence contrast with Schwanz et al.’s objective voice, data-driven logic, and conventional structure. Together, the personalized story and empirical data provide complementary perspectives on this crucial aspect of the college experience.