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Going To College

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From Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Diary, he writes, “[People are] always haunted by the idea [they’re] wasting [their] life”. People contemplate if what they are doing is worth their time or if what they are doing is considered a waste of time. When students complete high school, they have the choice of going to college or not going to college. They then question the pros and cons of attending college and the pros and cons of not attending college. Some people argue that college is worth going to because of the benefits college provides such as more, available opportunities or getting a higher income. They view college as an investment for the future. Despite the benefits college may provide, others find college not worthwhile and think those who …show more content…

As evidence, he includes an expert, David Autor, an M.I.T. economist. Leonhardt points out from Autor’s article in the journal Science that “the true cost of a college degree is about negative $500,000” (20). This evidence supports his claim because it clearly illustrates how much it would be to attend college. “Negative $500,000” being cheaper than free appeals to the audience because this amount is what they will gain back from working with a college degree. Leonhardt takes his evidence from an expert in the appropriate field of study who also has credentials. Economists focus on reviewing the economy how it can be improved. Their job includes researching and calculating money flow, inflation, and economic trends. Autor also received his degree from one of the most elite colleges. This makes him an expert at what he does which makes him a credible source. The fact that Autor’s article got published in the journal the Science also makes this evidence a credible source. The Science is an academic journal that is one of the top scientific journals in the world. He also includes how Autor and two other economists, Christopher Avery and Sarah Turner, calculated the cost of the tuitions and fees. The economist took the amount of the tuition and fees, subtracted it from lifetime gaps, then adjusted for inflation (20). This shows how the economist took everything into account in order to get to the results. Having more than one economist being part of the study makes this evidence credible. Leonhardt provides three economists that conducted studies that all have similar results to support each other. His claim is effective because his strong evidence proves that college is cheap, which is another reason why college is worth

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