Argumentative Essay Resources for the Topic: “Is College a Requirement for Success in Today’s Society or Not?”

For the ninth grade Embedded Assessment 2 in Unit 1 of Springboard, students are asked to write an argumentative essay about the value of a college education.

The ninth grade teacher team decided to phrase the prompt as follows:

Is college a requirement for success in today’s society or not?  

Students will be required to utilize multiple sources to answer this question and can choose a variety of angles on the topic.  The following are a list of resources that can be used for this purpose.

Articles Against College Education

“Is College Worth It?” from The Economist

• http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21600131-too-many-degrees-are-waste-money-return-higher-education-would-be-much-better

“The Case Against College Education” from TIME

• http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1967580,00.html

“Why a College Degree May Not Be Worth It” from U.S. News

• http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/05/09/why-a-college-degree-no-longer-guarantees-success

“College Isn’t for Everyone: Let’s Stop Pretending” from Slate

• http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2014/03/college_isn_t_for_everyone_let_s_stop_pretending_it_is.2.html

Articles About Trade Schools

“Going to Trade School; Should You Do It?” from Fox Business

• http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/04/06/going-to-trade-school-should-do-it/

“In Hard Times, Lured into Trade School and Debt” from The New York Times

• http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/business/14schools.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

“Trade Schools Might be a Better Choice than College: Here’s Why” from Lifehacker

• http://lifehacker.com/trade-school-might-be-a-better-choice-than-college-her-1484086007

Articles in Support of College Education

“Why Your College Degree Has More Value Than You Think” from Huffington Post

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brazen-life/why-your-college-degree-h_b_3000592.html

“Value of College Degree is Growing, Study Says” from The New York Times

• http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/education/21college.html

“It Still Pays to Get a College Degree” from Forbes

• http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/01/10/it-still-pays-to-get-a-college-degree/

“Top Ten Benefits of a College Degree” from The Christian Science Monitor

• http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2010/1028/Top-10-benefits-of-a-college-degree/Better-prepared-kids

Here is a handout that can be given to students with links to all of the articles:

• Articles for and Against College Education