Post #2-Rhetorical Analysis
During the past few years, the issue of granting free tuition has been debatable. Therefore, this issue can be persuaded in one way or another. However, we all know that it may not be easy to persuade an audience, so it is very important for the writer to choose the proper rhetorical appeals. Edward R. Murrow, an American journalist, once said, “ To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.” An article that I came across while doing this research was, “Going to College Should Not Be a Financial Albatross,” published by Lamar Alexander, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, on February 7, 2019. This is a perfect article to analyze because he uses more than one rhetorical appeal to persuade his audience.
Background of The Article
In the article, Alexander explains how our country has most of the best colleges in the world, yet there are hundreds of students that are not able to afford their tuition. He also states that for those who do decide to go, they will take out loans, and will later become in debt for their entire life.
Since Alexander is the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, he goes on to explain three bipartisan proposals that could help students afford college tuition and make it easier for them to apply for loans. The three bipartisan proposals are an easier process for filling out the Financial Student Aid Form and changing the loan repayment system either to monthly payments or a 10-year repayment plan. Lastly, the last proposal he discusses is a new accountability system for college programs on the basis of whether students are actually paying their loans. In conclusion, Alexander confirms that he will be working on these proposals with the committee and will find a solution that will definitely help students.
Alexander’s choice of appeals in this article is very effective and persuades the audience. He persuades his audience by using a great amount of statistical information, Logos, throughout the article. Lastly, Alexander uses Ethos to persuade the audience. He demonstrates the audience that he is very credible by stating his position in the education committee both in the beginning and end of the article.
The Use of Logos
As Alexander discusses his three proposals, he uses factual information such as statistical facts and quotes from economic and education researchers. For example, in the first proposal, he discusses the possibility that if we eliminate and lower the number of questions of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, “the number of applicants for student aid would go up by about two million a year, according to Kim Cook of the National College Access Network.” This quote demonstrates how Alexander uses statistical facts from a research study to support this proposal.
In his second proposal, he confirms that it is difficult for students to pay back their student loans so he proposes two repayment options which are based on a study made from Dr. Susan Dynarski at the University of Michigan. In addition, he adds a statistical example/scenario of how one of the repayment options will work. This works as an appeal to logos because it helps the audience imagine how this particular repayment option applies to their own student loan issues. The example/scenario affects the reader by causing them to think reasonably/logically.
Lastly, in his third proposal, Alexander uses statistical facts to establish a new accountability system for college programs. He states that “the current level of generosity toward students is unprecedented,” and “last year, federal taxpayers awarded 60 percent of our 20 million college students $28 billion in grants and $90 billion in loans…While total student debt is high, the average loan for a four-year college graduate is about the same as the average car loan.” By using this statistical comparison, it definitely helps the audience compare this issue to a situation that is more common. This works in Alexander’s favor because it helps the audiences that have not to experience student loan debt before to slightly understand or have an idea of how huge of an issue it really is.
As you can see, using statistical information can help the audience not only have accurate information, but it also helps the audience compare these issues to situations that are more common for those have not experienced it yet.
The Use of Ethos
Alexander shows his trustworthiness by his diction, unbiased proposals, and his experience. For instance, he uses academic language in the entire article. Therefore, his proposals are very clear and direct.
In addition, this also makes his article persuasive because it shows his professionalism and demonstrates to the audience that his intentions are real. Alexander’s intentions are real because he looks at both sides of the argument and by doing so it shows the audience that he is unbiased. For example, even at the end of the article, he states that “[He is] working with Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the senior Democrat on the Senate’s education committee, to complete work on these and other bipartisan proposals during the next six months.” Basically, Alexander is disclosing to the audience that he wrote all of his proposals in an unbiased point of view. In addition, this quote also proclaims the fact that he will be using his position as the chairman of the committee to work with other experts to find a solution. This is essentially Alexander’s “big bang” in ending this article. He purposely stated his position in the education committee to establish the fact that with his experience and power he will make a change. This truly affects the readers because it proves to them that he is definitely a trustworthy politician.
Conclusion: Is Alexander’s Article Effective or Ineffective?
Although Alexander decided to only use two rhetorical appeals, his choice to appeal to Logos and Ethos was very appropriate. He made a wonderful choice because by using factual information, it made his proposals more reliable. He further demonstrated that his information was reliable because of his expertise in this issue. Nonetheless, I conclude that Alexander’s article is very effective because he was able to balance and bounce back from both Logos and Ethos throughout the entire article.
Works Cited
Alexander, Lamar. “Going to College Should Not Be a Financial Albatross.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Feb. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/opinion/college-student-loans.html.
