Closed Prompt Nov. 18th

     William J. Bennett, a CNN contributor, analyzed the causes behind the issue of rising college tuition in his article entitled, "Stop subsidizing soaring college costs" (CNN.com). He opens with repeating his hypothesis from an article he wrote for the New York Times in 2011, which supposedly became known as the "Bennett Hypothesis" within education circles. His hypothesis states that, "the cost of college tuition will continue to rise as long as federal student aid programs continue to increase with little to no accountability" (Bennett). He observed that federal financial aid was doing little to nothing to help make college more affordable. College tuition prices would, according to his studies, increase as would financial aid and alumni donations.
     After clearly stating his position on the issue of the "soaring college costs", Bennett went on to make sure that readers with opposing positions would not think he was sending the wrong message by assuring in a later paragraph, "while increased financial aid does not cause college price inflation, it can be a considerable factor" (Bennett), and then going on to support his argument with statistics from outside sources. For example, he uses a quote from the College Board which said, "Total student aid increased by about 84% in inflation-adjusted dollars over the decade from 1997-98 to 2007-08". By using statistics, he helps rope in the audience members who may be skeptical, by assuring that his hypothesis was not just a thought he had by himself, but was one gathered from research on the topic.
     Not only did Bennett use statistics appropriately and effectively to his advantage, but the entire article was written in language that is easy to understand by adults and students alike. This was a good decision because it ensures that young people, of whom the issue he is talking about most concerns, easily understand and are aware of this side of the argument that is today being considered "could be the next U.S. debt bomb" (Bennett). He closes the article with a direct quote from President Obama with a threat that "If you [colleges and universities] can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down", so his ending not only explained the problem of college costs contributing heavily to the U.S. debt (student loans) and offered a common opinion on the why of the problem, but it left the audience with the President's previous statement, and the thought that " It remains to be seen if his threat holds any weight and if he will act on it" (Bennett).


http://articles.cnn.com/2012-03-22/opinion/opinion_bennett-college-costs_1_student-aid-financial-aid-tuition-at-public-universities/2?_s=PM:OPINION

^link to the article