Post #4 Summarizing arguments, with quotes

12/27/2021

BEFORE YOU POST: You might want to review the lists of verbs that we worked with last week. You can find them by clicking on this link. Also, obviously, read the two articles listed on the syllabus for today:

“Student Debt is Transforming the American Family” The New Yorker September 2, 2019
By Hua Hsu
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/09/student-debt-is-transforming-the-american-family

“Are Student Loans The Next Mortgage Crisis?” Forbes December 11, 2019
By Zach Friedman
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/12/11/are-student-loans-the-next-mortgage-crisis/#5b8b66b73f86

WHAT TO POST: For this post, please compare and contrast the arguments of the two authors in 300 words, much as you did last week. Again, use at least two of the verbs included from the list; this time, however, rather than introducing the writer's argument alone, please include at least one quote from each of the articles that you introduce using verbs from our verb list.

PRO-TIP: As you select what to quote, think about what you are trying to do: you want me to understand what the argument of each article is and to understand how the compare/contrast with each other. So select your quote or quotes accordingly.

FINALLY, once you've written your 300 words on the two articles, add a sentence or two more that tells me whether or not either of these two articles could serve as a resource for your research project and the question you are trying to answer. They might not, but they might. Part of learning how to conduct and write about research is knowing if a source is valuable to your project.

You are not required to respond to your classmates for this post.

3 Comments

George Ni

12/28/2021 06:12:27 pm

Both articles raise the concern for the student loans that most US college students face. Nowadays, the statistics shows that the latest students loan add up to 1.6 trillion dollars. The situation becomes more and more challenge for students. Two authors of the articles all agree that most students don’t have the ability to pay off the loans. They used the specific example from different families, which all show the crisis of student loans they face.

However, two articles have different perspective regarding to the student loans. Even though both authors admit that it becomes a crisis for US students, Zack proposes different solutions for students to relieve their financial issue. Zack generally has a positive attitude toward the loans because the article is a proposal for students to effectively solve their financial difficulty. In contrast, Hua holds a negative attitude toward the student loans. Hua claims that many middle-class families owned the debts they couldn’t afford to make their children go into the college. The situation will be even more challenge for poorer family. Hua questions the purpose of owning the debt by saying that: “At the same time, there is mounting skepticism about the usefulness of the college experience.” The author tries to remind the families and students who don’t have the sufficient economic status to support college study that they should really think carefully for student loans.

Besides, two articles are different from their style. Zack published his article on twitter. As the article is the personal proposal for students on social medium, this short article is written in a less formal format. Apposed to this, Hua’s article is more like a report or analysis of the social issue. Hua uses many formal words in his article, and he has quoted from many scholars and experts to support his claim. The paragraphs are more organized with his viewpoints and logic flows. Hua tries to reveal the issue of student loans to the public.

Overall, two articles discuss the crisis raised by the student loans, but the style and purpose of the articles are different.

ruoqi xu

12/29/2021 11:51:25 am

The themes of these two articles are all about the loan problems faced by the families of American college students. Hua Hsu believes
“It has been estimated that forty-five million people in the United States hold educational debt totaling roughly $1.5 trillion—more than what Americans owe on their credit cards or auto loans. Some fear that the student-debt “bubble” will be the next to burst.” And Zack Friedman also agrees “Calhoun says there is a disconnect between the amount of student loan debt borrowed and the borrower’s ability to pay off student loans.” Both authors agree that it is difficult for most students to repay their college loans, and many families are facing a loan crisis.
However, the two articles expressed different views on student loans. Hua has a negative attitude towards student loans for college because student loans make families unable to repay their debts, which is a huge challenge for many poor families. He says “These days, paying for college poses another potential for crisis.” At the same time, Hua also believes that people are increasingly skeptical about the usefulness of a university degree.
Zack is positive about student loans for college. Although he believes that student loans will burden families, the whole article introduces some methods and suggestions to solve the financial burden. He suggests “There is no shortage of proactive measures to help solve the nation’s student loan debt issue. Policymakers, legislators, presidential candidates and the private sector have all proposed solutions to mitigate the impact of any repeat of the mortgage crisis.”
Finally, I think these two articles are not very suitable for my research project, because my research is about international students going to university in the United States, and there may not be any loan problems.

Hanting Lu

1/21/2022 08:37:41 am

“Student debt is transforming the American family?” by Hua Hsu and “Are student loans the next mortgage crisis?” by Zach Friedman are both talk about the student loan. They have some similar points but from a different perspective.
“Student debt is transforming the American family” is talk about how student debt impacts the family. As people know, there are parents who pay their kids tuition to go to college. It is a lot of money to do so and if they have to support multiple kids. The government has a policy named 529 which can help the family save and pay their kids tuition but it is still a lot of money for parents sending their kids to college. Kids are admired their parents to do this but not all parents are able to do that even with the government’s help. Like the second article ”Are student loans the next mortgage crisis?” Many kids can’t get their parents’ support so they have to help themselves to live through college. This brings the student loan. A student loan is basically kids from college undergraduate, graduate or Ph.D. borrow money to pay their tuition and living expense. The bank would value them how much they can make when they graduate and how much they are willing to loan to the students. It is a great thing but based on research, there are more than 45 million people have student loans and it becomes the second-biggest mortgage payment to the United States. Student loan has scratched people’s back that gives tons of pressure on the student that makes them worry about their debt all the time.
Those two article shows the two way how college kids pay for their tuition from a different perspective.

Post #4 Summarizing arguments, with quotes

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ENGL 102 Winter 2021/22

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