In this post, I'm beginning to edit the original segments of the essay I am writing on the decline of academic preparedness among freshmen entering public colleges today. I am a bit behind in the creation of raw content, so I am focusing on clips from news stories that I plan to incorporate, and how the sources I chose to keep have changed from when I started.
Here is a link to an original news piece that I considered, and
here is a revised source that is slightly more on point.
- As can be seen by comparing the two pieces, the focus shifts from merely presenting an argument to incorporating a counterargument. The second clip incorporates an older source from 1997 making the same claim that the quality of students entering college is deteriorating. Since the caliber of America's workforce really hasn't been steadily declining over 20 years, it seems safe to say that this is a plausible counterargument showing that professors have always been making the claim that students aren't as good as they used to be.
- Technically, the form wasn't significantly altered here, because the focus was on my sources. Thus, until I get a complete working segment of my actual essay, I cannot alter the form. However, I believe the two sources will be used in different forms in the essay, because the presentation of a counterargument will be done in an anticipatory tone that tries to diminish the evidence, whereas the original content will be presented as evidence backing my claim.
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