In the article titled “A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely”, Robin Wilson analyzes the issue of mounting student loan debts created by the ever-increasing higher education costs in the United States. Using various rhetorical strategies of logos and pathos, Wilson purports that the problem of college debt, as has often been widely publicized and criticized, is significantly misguided and it may not be as bad as most people think.
There have been innumerable discussions and debates in many publications about how students are incurring huge loan debts as they get into college and how they are forced to pay these debts for the rest of the life after graduation (Logue, 2011). Wilson asserts that there is a huge misconception and the situation is not as critical as often portrayed and thought. Although a significant number of students incur humongous debts and they are forced to payback slowly over a long period of their lifetime, in the opinion of Wilson, college education is, nevertheless, a huge, but worthwhile investment. In spite of the presence of a large number of new college graduates facing gargantuan debts, about third of all graduates in American colleges actually leave college with virtually no debt at all (Wilson 258). In addition, 65% of all the students who incurred some kind of college education debt actually owe around $20,000 dollars, a relatively small amount. Wilson also argues that one aspect that has contributed to the confusion about the issue of student loans is that undergraduate education debts are often confused with those in professional and graduate schools where the student debts can be much higher.
According to Wilson, borrowing for college is a significantly good investment because the interest rates are usually low. In her economic perspective, debt is asserted as the best way of paying for college education because it involves shifting the costs forward until the debtor starts earning money. In the end, Wilson shows that a majority of college graduates are indeed making things work well even if they have debts. Thus, the truth is far from the common arguments around regarding the “life sentence” that is usually ascribed to students who chose to take on the burden of huge debts to finance their higher education.
The claims made by the author have a ring of truth. Simply put, the author is attempting to define the issue of college debt, what it entails and at the same time trying to diffuse some of the previous misconceptions. Therefore, the author’s main aims are to present the real facts about college debt and its various aspects. As elaborated previously, the primary claim by the author is that the issue of college debt is not as bad as many purport it to be. Contrary to popular opinion, accruing college debt does not necessarily mean that one is sentenced to a lifetime of paying debts. The author brilliantly follows through with the claim using sufficient evidence, and by the end of the article, most readers are bound to agree with her arguments and adopt a position similar to the one she is putting across.
One of the prevalent rhetorical strategies utilized by the author is logos. In an appeal to factual information throughout the essay, the author makes references to several facts, figures, and statistics that help substantiate her arguments. She quotes data and figures pertaining to student debts to illustrate that the situation is not really as bad as it is often thought. This strategy is indeed very important since it helps to eliminate many doubts in the reader’s mind about the authenticity of her arguments. Facts do make an argument more solid, and that is why Wilson uses the logic appeal so dominantly. A sample scenario in her article where she makes use of this strategy is when she states that “Of the 65 percent who face debt, the average they owe is around $20,000. That's just below the starting price of a 2009 Ford Escape” (Wilson, 257). Here, Wilson gives a key statistic that obviously has a factual appeal to the reader, and then follows it through with a statement to undermine the huge misconception about student debt. In her opinion, a 2009 Ford Escape is a vehicle that most college graduates can afford and therefore repaying a debt of an amount similar to the Ford Escape’s price should not be an issue. The second statement also has a rhetorical strategy of pathos where she appeals to emotion.
The logic appeal is not only used through statistical figures, but it is also used through real-life stories and experiences of people affected by the issue. Throughout the article, the author presents stories of former students who are either struggling to pay their debts, clear of paying their debts or comfortably paying their debts with no complaints.
The other rhetorical strategy used by the author, although not quite as intensively as the logic, is appeal to the pathos, which is engaging the reader’s emotions. Here, the author does not use facts, but rather tries to appeal to the emotions of the audience or the reader. An example is when the author quotes a professor of economics who states “From an economist's point of view, debt is the very best way to pay for education because you're shifting the cost forward until you'll be earning more money” (Wilson, 260). While this view may be biased and may not be accurate, it is meant to make the reader, in particular a potential loan seeking student, adopt the idea that taking debt may not be so bad. The argument appeals to the reader emotionally because it implies that the student is actually assured of a decent job in the future that pays enough money to repay the loan. Overall, it is clear that the author primarily uses various rhetoric appeals to support her claim, and they make her agreement valid and quite convincing.
In conclusion, “A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely”, is an article by Robin Wilson that tackles the issues of increasing higher education costs and student loan debts. The author uses the logos and pathos rhetorical strategies to support the claim that the problem of college debt, as has often been widely publicized, is misguided and it may not be as bad as people think. Throughout the essay, the author presents key facts, figures, and other evidence including real life testimonials that shed more light into the issue. In doing so, the author actually shows that the problem is not as bad as initially thought and that there is much that can be done to aid students from making bad and regrettable loan decisions. By the end of the article, most readers, such as myself, are fully convinced and therefore adopt a position similar to that of the author.
Works Cited
Wilson, Robin. "A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely." They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. 256-72. Print.
Logue, Ann C. "Tough Conversations–Talking about student debt and default across the campus." University Business 14.9 (2011): 44-48.
