Writing for an Academic Discussion Will fewer people go to college in the future? - rewrite -

Do you agree or disagree with the proposition that the number of people who choose to study at university will decrease in the future? (a class on education)

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1.        How much more expensive college tuition has become compared to the past?

2.        What are alternative educational pathways of university education?

3.        Why do people go to university? Is it just for getting a degree and finding a good job?

 

Notes:

1.        50 years ago, tuitions for national universities were around a quarter of a million yen a year. Now they cost more than a million yen a year. Also, there used to be scholarships offered with a very low interest rate, while now student loans with extremely high interest rates will keep graduates in debt until they are 50 years old.

2.        Alternative educational pathways are online courses like MOOCs, internships, and vocational training.

3.        As well as vocational training, university students learn scientific, critical thinking and gain the latest knowledge of their major. Building good relationships with other students and professors is another benefit of going to college.

 

☆Hints for Points

Agree

1.     The wealth gap is widening and fewer people can afford higher education, which was a privilege for the rich and the world is returning to that situation.

2.     Many people can no longer understand what they read properly. Most people find no pleasure in learning or finding the truth.

 

Disagree

1.        Everybody knows that real schooling beats other learning methods. Face-to-face communication boosts comprehension and memorization.

2.        A college diploma is prerequisite for a good job. Therefore, most people will still try to go to college.

 

 

☆Sample Answer for Ideas and Expressions

【Thesis】Observing where the world is going, I think it is highly possible that only children of privileged families will go to college in the future.

【Supporting Details】The wealth gap has been widening. In the Unites States, the top 1 percent of the population own the wealth of the bottom half. In addition, tuitions are much higher than before, making students graduate with heavy debts. Moreover, worsening climate change will exacerbate the wealth gap around the world. Under these conditions, the world can go back to what it was a century ago, when most were poor and few got higher education.

【Counterargument-treatment】The counterarguments would be the Global South. Emerging economies have united and working for equity with humanity. I hope these countries and the conscience of the West will bring about a better world where everyone has a chance to reach their academic potential if they wish. But what we are actually seeing is the opposite. For example, the Holocaust of the 21^st century, the genocide in Gaza by Israel, and the worsening oppression in the West Bank in Palestine are not stopped no matter how much efforts to let the world know the truth is made. If the country in the middle east with a long history can be demised for the welfare of a group of white people, other peoples will not be able to stay the same as the living conditions around the world get worse in the future, according to “The New Dark Age” by Chris Hedges.

【Conclusion】Therefore, I cannot help being pessimistic about university enrollment rates and predicting that only rich white children will go to college in the future. (273 words)

Write your response in 10 minutes. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

 

                                                   DRAFT