Bessette
Laura Bessette
ENG W131
Spring 2014
Rhetorical Analysis of "The Shadow Scholar"
The prefix 'pseudo' seems to perfectly describe the character of Dave Tomar, known by all as Ed Dante (Dave Tomar is Dante's pseudonym). His article "The Shadow Scholar," which appeared in the chronicle review section of The Chronicle of Higher Education on November 12, 2010, stirred controversy and a scare throughout the entire professional world. Doctors, educators, administrators, law officials, and all other professions of importance consequently came under the microscope. Dante has spent the course of a decade as a full-time ghostwriter who is paid to help students cheat as they achieve 'competency' in their chosen fields of study. This illegal, unethical behavior occurs rampantly and abundantly in and throughout the schools of those who are aiming to achieve their bachelor's degree, those who are aiming to achieve their master's degree, and those who are aiming to achieve their doctorate's degree in any and all fields of study.
English: Dante Alighieri's portrait by Sandro Bott...
Statue of Dante in the Piazza di Santa Croce in Fl...
English: Meryl StreepDante claims to have written thesis papers for psychology, medical, and administrative post-graduate students, among countless others. The money is good for Dante, as it supports him with $66,000 per year. While Dante did agree to speak on behalf of his involvement in this ghostwriting industry, he did so with carefully planned strategies to conceal his true character until blowing his own cover at a specified time, which came in January 2011. In 2011, ABC World News with Diane Sawyer and Nightline both interviewed Dante. Dante used voice covers and did not show his face in any of the many confessions he has subsequently partaken in. After the resulting widespread quake of debate and disturbance, students, educators, and parents were left among those who felt the chief responsibility to respond and investigate this matter of cheating.