Is Your Child Ready For College Math Rhetorical Analysis

In “Is Your Child Ready For College Math?” the author builds an argument that many students may not be prepared with the mathematics skills to be college or career ready. The author uses reasons such as the fact that students may have taken insufficient mathematics courses; that they may have taken the wrong courses, or that students have not mastered the skills required to be college and/or career ready. The author provides supporting evidence from the text and compelling word choices to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument.

The author uses evidence such as facts or examples, to support that many students may not be prepared with the mathematics skills to be in college or career ready. In paragraph 3 it states, “At a time

For example, in the heading “Many students aren’t ready”, the author states “Some of them didn 't take enough math, some took the wrong math and some managed to pass the classes without learning the math”. The evidence explains that even though a student may pass a particular math course, they aren’t prepared to take college level math or even understand the concept of that math course. In the heading “Your child needs math every year” the author explains that just because some students took a higher level math in seventh or eighth grade and are able to “fulfill minimum admission requirements for all but the most selective colleges by the end of junior year” doesn’t mean they should take a break once they become a senior. Once they do take a break then taking college level math will be hard for

The author appeals to emotion in the heading “Placement tests are “hidden standards”. The heading explains that if a student misses just one year of mathematics then passing the college placement exam will be difficult. The director of the Transition Mathematics Project Bill Moore said “Sometimes students are pushed too hard and too fast. They rush through the curriculum, they take their senior year off, they take a placement test - and have to take remedial math”. He understands that if students are failing they have to recover quickly and it may cause them to not understand the concept and they may end up taking “remedial math” because they were “pushed to hard and too fast”. Another persuasive element the author uses is logos. In “what about calculus” it explains that the “U.S. students ranked second from the bottom in 2003 Trends in International Math and Science Study” but the kids who were taking calculus ranked first in the world. Not every student is going to be ready for AP calculus that 's why some schools offer other math alternatives to help. The author also explains that students are required to take the basic math courses that will lead them up to Ap calculus. For example, they need to learn algebra and geometry to be able to do