NW Writing Assignment

Claim: College Should Not Be Free

Writing Requirements (APA format)

· Due in 24 hours on 2/9/2020

· Length: 100-150 words per source for Part 1 (Annotation); 50-80 words per source for Part 2 (Evaluation) (not including title page or references page)

· 1-inch margins

· Double spaced

· 12-point Times New Roman font

· Title page

· References page must include links to scholarly articles from journals

· Must be ran through a plagiarism checker or Turnitin with report

Introduction By this week, you should have collected the sources that you need to support, with relevant evidence, the position you have taken on the issue you chose, and the three aspects of the issue you will write about. This week you will submit a thesis statement and an annotated bibliography of at least five sources that you will use in your paper.

Instructions This week, you will submit a thesis statement and an annotated bibliography with evaluation of at least five (5) sources you intend to use in your final paper to support your claim. These are sources that provide evidence to support that your claim should be accepted by the reader. Scholarly sources are preferred and should be used where available; due to the nature of some of the topics, authoritative articles in very high quality substantive journals may also be acceptable.

Claim: College Should Not Be Free

· Below are my reasons/aspects of why college should not be free. Find scholarly articles to help you get more information on the aspects to help support your claim. (Choose 3 of the following reasons/aspects)

1. The Money Has to Come From Somewhere

If America were to move to a tuition-free college policy, where would the money come from? The short and simple answer is taxes. Who gets taxed seems to vary based on who is talking, but it seems certain that the upper echelons of American society will see increased taxes if this passes. There is a likelihood that it will increase the upper-middle-class as well. Or maybe it will all come from Wall Street speculation taxes. The point is, all we know is that someone will pay these dues through taxes. The uncertainty of who will carry the burden is not making many Americans comfortable.

2. Younger Generations Won’t Know How to Handle Finances

College is full of learning experiences, one of which is learning how to create a budget to save money. College loans are often the first major financial dealing that people work with. Paying them off in a timely manner proves you know how to budget your money, skills people use again and again when buying cars or houses. Without having to pay for school, that experience won’t exist. That might be trouble down the road for buying that house or car.

3. College Might Not Seem As Important

If higher education at public schools becomes free, it might appear to devalue a college degree. It might also lead to students cutting more classes or not trying because they don’t have to “get their money’s worth” when they aren’t paying for anything. The current price of college drives students to complete their schooling as quickly as possible so as to reduce debt. Without that financial drive, we might see more laziness and lackadaisical behavior from our students.

4. More People Would Go to College

As enrollment at public schools increases, so do the fees. Either more money would have to be given to the schools, or they would have to create waitlists. This means that the taxes for education-related purposes might go up, or funding for something else (such as military expenditures) might be diverted to pay the influx of fees. In addition to this, the large number of graduates might oversaturate some areas of the workforce. That leaves even more people with degrees working jobs that they are overqualified for.

Use the Source Evaluation Worksheet to submit the annotated bibliography. Prepare a citation, annotation, and evaluation for each source.

For each source do the following:

Annotation Example Waite, L. J., Goldschneider, F. K., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51, 541-554.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living. 

Source Evaluation Example 2a. While this source is not current, it has formed the basis for numerous follow-up studies and it frequently cited in the literature; it has both historical value and also serves as a base-point for tracking changing attitudes.

2b. This is a scholarly source; the source is credible, reliable and authoritative.  The authors were experts in their fields, published their study in a peer-reviewed journal, and the study has held up under rigorous scrutiny by other experts in the field.

2c. This source strongly supports my thesis that the current pattern of young adults remaining with family because they cannot afford independent living due to student loan obligations is having a negative effect on young adults developing self-sufficiency and individualism.

2d. This source is popular; it is used to show how public opinion was influenced by advertising.