Ask us!

English I Articles for Discussion

Is College Worth It?

Find your article in the list below. Then:

Open the article
SKIM it (do not read the entire article); pay attention to information ABOUT the article
Think about where on the spectrum of intended audience/creation process/type of information and purpose your article falls
Go to your assigned number in the classroom
With others in your group, rank the articles from least to most on your assigned spectrum.

Advice and Caution on Investing in a College Education: An economist and a financial journalist offer their strategies
Can mixed assessment methods make biology classes more equitable?
Class Dismissed: Quantifying Achievement and the Reinforcement of Inequality.
College degrees don't always prepare applicants for a job. Employers demand them anyway
College Tuition and Student Loans
Does higher education hone cognitive functioning and learning efficacy? Findings from a large and diverse sample
Google's Plan to Disrupt the College Degree Is Exactly What the Higher Education Market Needs
Grades Can Undermine Learning. What Should Professors Use Instead? Alternative approaches can help shift students' attention from how they did to what they learned
Major Differences: Why some degrees cost colleges more than others.
U. Of California Should Keep Requiring SAT Subject Tests of Applicants
Upward mobility and higher education: mining the contradictions in a worker education program

Activity: Distinguish between source types

You will be assigned an article to skim and one of the categories below to consider as you skim the article. Where on the spectrum do you think your article would fall - the low end, the middle, or the high end?

Intended audience

No knowledge of topic --------------------> Some basic knowledge of topic ----------------------------------> Expert on subject

Creation process

Quickly created, little review ------------------> Some time, effort, fact checking or review -----------------> Lots of time, effort and review

Type of information

Informal, speculative, entertaining -------------------> Some research mixed with opinion, persuasive --------------------> Formal, research-based