Informal Writing #5

            The readings I have chosen to compare are “I’m not Saving up for my Son’s College Tuition – Here’s Why” by Carol Cain and “There’s no College Tuition ‘Bubble’: College Education is Underpriced” by Jeffrey Dorfman. The articles are related (as deduced by their titles), but also argue in different ways.

            Both articles have very strong arguments, but the arguments themselves are fairly different. In Carol Cain’s article, she argues that she doesn’t have to save for her son’s tuition and backs it up with not only experiences from her past, but also with reasons that we can make connections to. Jeffrey Dorfman talks about how if you look at the actual prices that students pay for tuition (after financial aid, etc.), that in reality, colleges are quite underpriced for the most part. He uses a lot of numbers also makes a connection that we can understand saying that colleges are like cars in that just because a few models of cars are expensive, that does not mean that all cars are expensive.

            Both arguments appeal to the same audience, and that is people looking at colleges, either currently or in the future. However, both arguments appeal to their audience in different ways. For example, Carol Cain talks about how her parents did not pay for her tuition, and yet she was able to get through college by working and saving money. She appeals to pathos mainly, because her story comes off as a sort of success story. It can encourage readers to the point that they may be persuaded. However, in Jeffrey Dorfman’s article, he appeals to logos by using facts and prices that people have paid in the past. He makes it seem that in reality, college is not as expensive as it seems.

            The first article impacts me the most. At first, when I read the article’s title I thought to myself “no there is no way I am going to support this woman” because I am a strong believer in saving up for and helping pay for my children’s tuition. However, as I continued to read her article, I realized that she was not saying something like I had expected. I ended up supporting her decision in the end, after she had discussed that she was helping her son to grow up quicker. The fact that she is still willing to help pay for some of the other non-tuition expenses of college made me really support her, however. Personally, I will still save money for my children’s college tuition, but Carol Cain makes a very strong argument.