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Sample Essay #2

This is another essay written by a student with the same assignment. This student was required to use a source; however, she was not given restrictions about MLA format, etc.

The title of this essay is "America, the Star-Spangled Bargain," and was written by Carol Crane.

Japanese investments in the United States are on the rise. Their total investments in the U.S. are estimated to be over $250 billion, which includes their recent purchase of Columbia Pictures. As much as Americans disapprove of anyone messing with U.S. turf, there are some positive points to Japanese investments. The Japanese provide Americans with jobs by reopening vacant manufacturing plants, they purchase land which American firms have passed over and they also finance our huge budget deficit. Americans are most disturbed when they start losing their jobs due to foreign takeovers.

As stated previously, U.S. citizens are very upset with the new wave of Japanese investments in to U.S.; although this new wave disturbs me, there are some positive aspects to their investments. One area in which the Japanese aid Americans is their ability to reopen inoperative plants and build new ones. Due to these investments, over 200,000 Americans work for Japanese owned companies. That figure could increase to one million by the turn of the century. Japanese also build new plants that are highly efficient which in return helps enhance our place in world market competition.

Having foreigners own some of our prized land is a chilling thought, and most of us Americans do not approve, but this can also be beneficial. Japan's real estate investors have been focusing on a few of the larger cities in the United States, in particular Los Angeles. At this time, it is believed that those Japanese investors own 64% of the prime down-town real estate in that city. Although they are driving real estate market prices up by paying top dollar for the land, it is hard to find another area where the U.S. gains as much as when the Japanese invest in real estate. The dollars that end up in Japanese hands, as a result of Americans preferring some of the luxury products produced by Japan, are reinvested back in the U.S. through real estate purchases. The Japanese interest certainly does not stop at real estate. The most important one to our economy would be their investment in U.S. bonds.

Americans do like to complain about the Japanese investments in the U.S., but one of the most significant, and probably most positive, points about Japanese investments in the U.S. would be that they help pay off our huge deficit. Because of the huge trade surplus in imports from Japan to the U.S., the Japanese have acquired $62 million in spare cash. With this huge surplus they purchase U.S. government bonds and securities, which in return helps us finance the U.S. budget deficit. These purchases also help to keep interest rates low and provide additional liquidity in the United States.
With all the positive benefits of Japanese investments in the U.S., Americans still do not approve of the invasion of their home turf. Maybe in time Americans will accept this concept with a little more grace. In the meantime, let's be proud, yet cautious, and the "Land of the Free" won't become "a home of the star spangled bargain" (U.S. News & World Report, 29 May 1989).



1. Underline the thesis statement. Does it present a reasonable claim that is supported in the body? Add a comment.

2. Carol did a good job of ending one paragraph with a transition to the next. Find an example of this and put the passage in brackets.

3. Where does Carol explain opposing view and refute it? How successful is she?

4. How convincing is Carol's argument? What is her strongest piece of evidence?