I. Intro
“Waking Up and Taking Charge” written by YALE Grduate, Anya Kamenetz, is an essay written to inform college students that they are getting taken advantage of when it comes to paying for college. Students are getting buried alive in student loan debt. Anya believes that college is too expensive for the average college student. She compares college prices in the United States to other colleges in different countries. She claims that the only way for colleges to lower their tuition is for the students to get involved. Overall, her claim is that the price of college needs to be more affordable and students must take a stand.
II. Middle paragraphs
A. I agree that college tuition is too high. Society portrays having a college degree is the only way to be successful. There are plenty of other options to take in life to be successful such as trade school, the military, the police academy and many more. Students are willing to go into a heaping amount of debt all for a college degree that does not guarantee a job. I personally have a number of friends with degrees and no job. I also have friends with good jobs and no degree. I think students should take a stand like Anya said and join a PAC to get tuition to be more affordable. I also think students should consider other career options besides college.
B. Today, students love to complain about the cost of college but they never want to do anything about it. I recognized at an early age that college was not worth the debt but I also saw the importance of having a degree. I joined the military after high school. I served four years active duty with the United States Marine Corps. In return for my service, my college is completely paid for. The military isn’t for everybody which is totally fine, and that is why I think, like Anya, that joining a PAC is so important.
C. A PAC is a political action committee. Going the political route is the best way for change to happen. Within a PAC students voices are heard. Their opinions are considered and with enough students complaining about the price of college, change would occur. Again, the problem is that students would rather worry about debt later in life than to stand up and voice their opinion. You can tell how important this is to Anya according to her dialogue. “If 35 million people over fifty can band together to demand respect from Congress, so can we” and that if we don’t, we will continue to be “typecast as passive adolescents”.
III. ENDING PARAGRAPH/ CONCLUSION
This essay is very convincing. Anya gets her claim across very clearly by using real life examples. She also provides real life solutions. Her dialogue speaks directly to her audience. With her being a professional writer about education specifically, she is well informed on her claim. Anya Kamenetz is a reasonable reasoner. With the examples above as well as her being self critical and arguing with her audience in mind, she was overall very convincing in her essay.
In conclusion, Anya Kamenetz is a reasonable reasoner as to why the price of college tuition is too high.
Works Cited
Aims of Argument: Text & Reader (p. 408). McGraw-Hill Education. Kindle Edition.
Aims of Argument: Text & Reader (p. 409). McGraw-Hill Education. Kindle Edition.
