College Debt Persuasive Speech

Persuasive Speech

Casey Harral

Topic: Avoiding College Debt

Purpose: To Persuade

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to try solutions to avoid college debt caused by loans.

Thesis Statements: I want to persuade my audience to avoid college debt because 1) most students drop out of college because of the debt they are in. 2) There are a couple ways to avoid this debt. 3) There are several benefits that come from using these solutions.

Attention Step

I. (Attention Getter)

II. (Topic Justification) College students are in debt.

A. According to my survey almost half of my class is in debt because of college fees.

B. The fear of going even deeper in debt can make students feel overwhelmed.

C. Some students have found a way to reduce

these debts.
III. (Credibility Statement) My first semester of college I already acquired almost 6,000 dollars’ worth of debt, I was letting debt control my life.
A. I was almost ready to call college quits.
B. But Instead I decided to try some solutions to reduce some debt for the future semester.
1.

The first solutions I tried is applying for grants, and scholarships before the due date.

2. Second is borrowing textbooks or searching online for free textbooks when possible.

3. Third is not taking the loans that were offered even if it would have been easier.

4. Now I am debt free for this whole semester.

IV. (Preview) Today I will persuade you to reduce your college debt caused by loans.

A. First, students are in debt leading to more dropouts.

B. Second, grants, scholarships, borrowing textbooks instead of buying, and not accepting all the loans presented to you can cut costs.

C. And third, these solutions are very beneficial for your future.

Need Step

I. (Statement of Problem) College debt from student loans is leading to more student drop outs.

II. (Extent and Seriousness of the Problem) According to CBS News college debt is the main problem for students.

A. The rising cost of higher education and the resulting amount of student debt is a current issue for students (The impact of financial stress on academic performance in college economics courses).

1. Student debt will pass over 1 trillion dollars this year

2. Several students go into debt and never end up getting their

degree.
3. Several students state that college debt is like a black hole once it gets you there is no getting out.
4. More and more students are taking out student loans to accommodate the constantly rising cost of a college education.
B. One in three students can’t concentrate on their studies because they are worried about their debt (CBS).
1. One in three of you in this class will struggle concentrating on your schooling because of the debt you have accumulating.
2. This can result in failing grades causing you to retake classes leading to more debt.
C. One in four college student’s debt can lead to physical and or mental health problems (CBS)
1. College debt is leading to anxiety and depression for students (CSMHC).
2. College debt is leading to lower self-esteem for students (CSMHC).
D. One in twenty students end up dropping out for at least one semester sometimes more (CBS).
1. This meaning at least one of you in this class will drop out because of the debt you are in.
2. As the debt load of enrolled poor and minority students rises, so too do their dropout rates (Student loans: are we getting our money’s worth).
3. Thus resulting in no obtain the degree you went into debt for.
E. Several students cannot afford the high costs of textbooks.
1. Students will refuse to buy textbooks because they are too expensive and they are already invested to much in the semester.
2. This results in students not being able to do assigned reading resulting in grade drops.
III. (Audience Involvement) In my survey I asked how many of you are in debt.
A. Half of the class indicated that they were in fact in debt.
B. The other half said they were not in debt.
C. I asked the class how many felt that college textbooks should be free.
1. Half of the class felt they should be free
2. But they all stated that this is not feasible because costs of other things would increase.
D. I also asked how they reduced these debts on their own
1. Some said by scholarships and grants.
2. But some said they avoided these debts by a budget.

Transition: Now that I have went over the prevalence of debt to college students, and some health related issues to stress I will go over my solutions to relieve some of this debt.
Solution Step
I. (Evaluation of proposed alternate solution) The idea of just making a budget for school sounds simple.
A. Just making a budget in impractical.
1. Random expensive can appear out of nowhere
2. With a strict budget made it is impossible for those surprise costs to be paid.
B. Just making a budget does not solve the problem of college debt.
1. Depending on your job there is no way of affording the high costs of college.
2. This means that just making a budget would not solve the issue of high student debts.
II. (Statement of my solution) We can make a significant impact on reducing college debt if we just put in more effort instead of taking the easy way out with loans.
III. (Explain the Solution) There are a few different way college students can reduce these debts caused by schooling.
A. Applying for scholarships, and grants as soon as possible can help produce extra money for students to stay out of debt.
B. Working part-time can also help in this time of need.
C. Another way to reduce costs of school is borrowing textbooks whenever possible instead of buying.
IV. (Demonstrate the effectiveness of the solution) These techniques have helped several students make it through to their degrees without that overwhelming debt.
A. Applying for scholarships and grants is a huge aspect of affording college without debt.
1. There are literally thousands of scholarships that are being handed out as we speak, which you don’t have to pay back like loans.
2. The more money that you are awarded through scholarships, the chance of taking out a loan decreases.
3. The more scholarships you acquire, even if they are smaller ones, they help cut down that student loan balance.
B. Working part time can also help cut these costs.
1. Working during the semester can help relieve stress caused by debt because while you are going to school you can be making money at the same time.
2. There are several internships provided by the college that will work around your schooling to help you afford classes so you don’t have to resort to taking out loans.
C. Borrowing textbooks or using free websites can help also.
1. Textbooks can be extremely expensive ranging from 200$-1000$ and borrowing textbook can eliminate this cost.
2. There are several textbook websites that you can look up your book and read that is completely free such as Bookboon.com and Bartleby.com.
3. Did I mention borrowing the textbooks over buying them is free.
V. (Refutation) Those that are opposed to these solutions state that it takes up to much time applying for scholarships and finding someone to borrow their textbook.
A. Applying for scholarships does not have to be time consuming.
1. On BOSS scholarships there are several scholarships that just requires your name to apply for.
2. Along with this just registering for this service it automatically enters your information for every scholarship applicable to you and its free.
B. Finding free textbook can also be quick and easy.
1. Like I stated earlier there are several websites that offer free textbooks to read at the touch of your fingers.
2. Along with this it’s a small world ask fellow classmates through social media if they have the textbook it is quick and simple.
Transition: Now that I have talked about my solution to avoiding college debt caused by student loans let’s take a look at how life can be without that pressure of debt on your back.
Visualization step
I. (Positive Visualization) College debt doesn’t have to control you like a puppet your whole life.
A. Imagine going through the rest of your college career not worrying about debts and fees.
1. You will now be able to enjoy the future because you won’t have to worry about paying for all those fees because you now have effective ways to reduce it.
2. When upcoming fees arise you will be able to deal with it head on instead of deciding which debt is more important to pay first.
B. Imagine having the weight of debt lifted off your shoulders
1. You will be able to perform better in school because you won’t have the thought of debt in the back of your mind.
2. This increased concentration will improve your grades to show your true potential in school.
II. (Negative Visualization) If you forget about everything I just talked about, you may end up drowning in debt in the future.
Conclusion/Action
I. (Summary) Today I have tried to persuade you to reduce debts caused by college.
A. First, Debt that is caused by college is leading to more dropouts.
B. Second, grants, scholarships, borrowing textbooks instead of buying, and not accepting all the loans presented to you can cut costs.
C. And third, these solutions are very beneficial for your future so you can enjoy life instead of paying for it.
II. (Action Step) We all have to take responsibly for the actions we made to get into this black hole called debt.
A. Today I want everybody to make the commitment to do everything possible to pay for college before accepting those student loans.
1. Whether its applying for numerous scholarships.
2. Or going to every person you know to borrow their textbooks from previous classes and searching online.
B. When you all leave class today I want you to get on BOSS Scholarships and apply for every scholarship that you qualify for.
C. Don’t let college debt control your life, you control your life!
References
Bakke, David. "5 Ways to Avoid College Debt." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Bennett, Doris, Cynthia McCarty, and Shawn Carter. "The Impact of Financial Stress On Academic Performance In College Economics Courses." Academy of Educational Leadership Journal 19.3 (2015): 25. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Elliott, William. "Student Loans: Are We Getting Our Money's Worth?" Change 46.4 (2014): 26-33. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Henriques, Gregg, Ph.D. "The College Student Mental Health Crisis." Psychology Today. Web. 20 Apr. 2016
"How to Avoid Student Debt | Student Debt Relief." Student Debt Relief Student Loan Forgiveness.

Web. 20 Apr. 2016. .

"Students in Debt: $1 Trillion Hole and More Dropouts." CBSNews. CBS Interactive. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Survey

How many of you are in debt? 10 out of 21 agreed

How do you plan to prevent this debt? Scholarships and a budget

How mant of you feel textbooks should be free? 12 out of 21

How many of you have scholarships? 11 out of 21

Stylistic Devices

(Simile) College debt doesn’t have to control you like a puppet your whole life.

(Personification) you may end up drowning in debt in the future.

Motive Appeals

I used the sense of Self-Preservation by stating My first semester of college I already acquired almost 6,000 dollars’ worth of debt, I was letting debt control my life.

I used fear in my speech stating, College debt is leading to anxiety and depression for students. Scaring students to avoid college debt.

Enthymemes

Categorical

Major Anyone who goes to college is in debt

Minor My audience goes to college

Conclusion therefor my audience is in debt.

Tests

Only three terms appear and each term is used twice.

The minor premise is affirmed.

Hypothetical

Major if you do not follow my solutions to avoid debt, then you will be in

debt.
Minor You did not follow my solutions to avoid debt.
Conclusion you are in debt.
Tests
The two conditions are related and the minor premise affirms the antecedent.