In her online editorial, "College Debt Leaves Generation X Grads Less Wealthy Than Parents," from Bloomberg.com, Jeanna Smialek shows that College Graduates in the age group, Generation X [the generation born from the late 1960s to mid 1970s] have far more debt from than their peers who did not attend college (Collins English Dictionary). In the article, the objectives are clear and the issue is clearly stated in the first paragraph. She suggests through deductive reasoning that this debt is quite large due to student loans. Smialek explores possibilities on how Generation X is also affecting the proceeding generation, the Millennials (Online Etymology Dictionary). Her analysis of college debt appeals to the reader's logic, as well as emotions by using several examples to get her point across. Jeanna Smialek is the author of many economic editorials that appear on this online magazine and through her broad knowledge of economics Smialek establishes ethos to support the issue with actual studies conducted (articles by Jeanna Smialek). She successfully persuades people that are part of Generation X as well as those who are not by leading you to believe that the same will happen in further generations.
Her ideal target audience is those who are in favor of the author's generalization, they could be Generation X graduates who still have a burden of student loans [money borrowed for those who cannot afford to pay their tuition with a yearly interest] (Cambridge Dictionaries Online). Smialek positively convinces her audience that Generation X has far more debt than their peers without degrees. She also implies that we believe having a college degree gets us more money. The author uses logical appeals to support her argument. Smialek quotes some statistics from a Pew Charitable Trusts Report to support her argument that student debt is taking a toll on Generation X. Smialek quotes, ""While 82 percent of Generation X Americans with at least a ...