TOW #5- “A Student Loan System Stacked Against the Borrower” by GRETCHEN MORGENSON

(The picture used in the original article. This is Patrick Wittwer, the person who the article revolves around)

This article was written by Gretchen Morgenson who is a columnist for the New York Times. She has been working for them since 1998 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for her work. To add to her credibility, this article was written in the perspective of Patrick Wittwer who deals with student loans on a daily basis. With this combination, the author is extremely credible

            This article was written for an audience of people who deal with student loans. In the article the author explains that student loans have been a major issue for everyday people. Not only are customers harassed, but the system in place for these loans is loose when it comes to code. This allows the companies to pretty much do what they want which makes the system very unorganized.

            Through this essay Morgenson was trying to rally up people in order to help combat this system. In the article she writes, “Borrowers and taxpayers deserve better” (Morgenson 1). This quote clearly shows that she is trying to get people together in order to make the student loan corporations change.  Besides this quote Morgenson is able to express her purpose well through rhetoric.

            Throughout the essay Morgenson used facts along with quotes from credible sources in order to appeal to logos. In the article she would write, “Discover Bank paid $18.5 million without admitting or denying wrongdoing” (Morgenson 1) and “’For a servicer to see a student loan borrower struggle and not help them get into the right repayment plan is a huge customer service failure,’ Ms. Wang said” (Morgenson 1). These facts and quotes help support her logical argument that she is creating. These quotes exemplify how the system needs tweaking. By appealing to logos the way she does, Morgenson is able to make the reader come to the conclusion themselves which then better supports her overall purpose.

            This was a very interesting article and one that scares me for the future.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/business/a-student-loan-system-stacked-against-the-borrower.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news