ipl-logo

Best In Class By Margaret Talbot

723 Words3 Pages

In today’s modern world, many students in high school are striving to be the best, and sometimes to get there, students compete against each other which than of course brings on the pressure and stress of not only keeping up with classes but making it to the top of the class and becoming valedictorian. They will do anything to reach the top, sometimes even cheating to surpass fellow students. Although Margaret Talbot acknowledges the other arguments that becoming a valedictorian is great and should not be gotten rid of in her article “Best in Class”, she conveys the message that competition for valedictorian is unnecessary through her use of diction and testimonies. Talbot uses strong diction to show the reader that the competition for valedictorian …show more content…

By interviewing many past students, Talbot adds to her credibility because the testimonies of these people shows that she did her research before writing this article. For example, she interviewed Brian Delekta who “...narrowly missed having the highest GPA in his class…” to which he “... sued his school district” (226). Many of the students that Talbot interviewed like Delekta also sued their schools and the district all because they did not become valedictorian or the sole valedictorian. What the students do not realize that while becoming valedictorian in high school is a huge deal, once in college and even past that when working at a job, no one else cares if you were or were not valedictorian. Talbot also uses testimonies to appeal to the reader especially those about to go into college in a year or two. Many students who were close to becoming valedictorian, or those who were valedictorian like Wu go on to prestigious schools like Harvard. In her interview with Talbot, Wu said, “Nobody in college cares about your having been valedictorian” which goes to show that all this competition for valedictorian is really all for nothing (227). All of these testimonies from former high school students appeals to students in high school right now because some of them are also competing for valedictorian and understand the amount of pressure these previous students have

Show More
Related

'The Class Mastle' By Jeannette Walls

330 Words | 2 Pages

In this passage “THE GLASS CASTLE” by Jeannette Walls, it's a remarkable memoir of Jeannette and her family lives. The novel begins when Jeannette was three years old and she was making hot dogs and caught herself on fire. She ends up having 2nd degree burns and had to get a skin graft. Jeannette uses characterization so the readers can know about her and her family and how odd they were. Even though her parents always did something bad they always made something out of nothing.

Read More

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

461 Words | 2 Pages

On the day of October 4, 1951 a women by the name of Henrietta Lacks passed away at the age of thirty-one due to cervical cancer. Even though Lacks died on that day she still lives to this very day. This is because then Lacks was undergoing treatment for her cancer at John Hopkins Hospital her doctor took samples Lack’s tumor caused by the cancer. Researchers tested to see how long her cells could live while outside of her body. Researches were surprised to find out that somehow Lacks’ cells wouldn’t die.

Read More

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

522 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks the author Rebecca Skloot brings up the topic of education various times throughout these seven chapters and thus helps the reader understand what a big discovery it was when Henrietta cells were found to be immortal and the medical revolution it brought. Henrietta Lacks was born August, 21, 1920 as a Loretta Pleasant and is unknown how she became Henrietta Lacks according to Skloot(pg.18) and in the distance future she would eventually visit Hopkins Hospital and inevitably starts the process of how her cells created a medical revolution and a multimillion-dollar industry. January, 29th, 1951 Henrietta went into Hopkins Hospital for a knot she felt in her womb and thus was examined by her doctor Howard Jones and was diagnosed with cervical cancer, in the past year Henrietta knew something was wrong with her but was too scared to go to the hospital for fear they would take her womb but eventually after she had her fifth child Joe that year she went to her local doctor but was referred to Hopkins after her knot tested negative for syphilis. Only a few days later after her visit to Hopkins; Jones got her tests and resulted in that she had Epidermoid Carcinoma of the cervix ,

Read More

A Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Best In Class' By Margaret Talbot

491 Words | 2 Pages

Being named the highest academic achiever of anyone in your school is quite the achievement; however, in “Best in Class” by Margaret Talbot, she puts forth the message that the fight for valedictorian is causing much more harm than good. Talbot reinforces this argument through her uses of hard evidence to appeal to ethos and her anecdotal interviews to appeal to pathos. Being one of the strongest parts of her article, Talbot’s use of great amounts of hard evidence strengthens her appeal to ethos. Being a reporter, and a female reporter at that, Talbot must be very careful to avoid using overly-emotional appeals to try and convey her argument. The reporting industry is one in which someone can lose their credibility to critics very quickly

Read More

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Valedictorian By Margaret Talbot

685 Words | 3 Pages

Margaret talbot ,throughout her piece, shows how students have been focused on getting the title of “Valedictorian” when really it is just causing several issues Talbot uses different rhetorical devices to have a personal connection with her readers and make her argument more credible. The author explains the difficulties in getting valedictorian and the problems that it has with some students who believe they deserve the title. Talbot explains how students who received valedictorian are still academically skilled in college; however, nobody really cares whether or not you got valedictorian. Talbots message appeals to the audience’ s emotions when she shows the amount of stress and work that students put themselves through in order to qualify

Read More

A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Essay 'Best Of Class' By Talbot

511 Words | 3 Pages

The plight of the students who fight for their position as a valedictorian is used to invoke frustration in the reader as they sense an injustice to the stressed students. Talbot used stories of the system working against the hard working student like Stephanie Klotz who had “so many plaques I literally couldn’t carry them off stage”(228) and was originally not valedictorian. These tale frustrate the reader to the point where they actively seek out a compromise that Talbot gives. Talbot also uses pathos in the form of a counter argument to logically convince the reader that the valedictorian system should be still be implemented yet altered slightly. Talbot admits that the valedictorian system is “designed for a simpler time” (231) and maybe should be eliminated.

Read More

Pheoby Watson In Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

399 Words | 2 Pages

When relating to someone you hold similar characteristics as them or consociate on a physical or emotional level. In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” I partially relate to Pheoby Watson who is apart of the community/outsiders. Pheoby Watson is the best friend of the main character Janie after she moves to Maitland/Eatonville. Pheoby is married to Sam Watson and quickly becomes Janie’s confidante due to her being affable. She looks up to Janie for love inspiration even though she is quite beneficent with her own love life.

Read More

Margaret Barrs Idea Of Best In Class

722 Words | 3 Pages

Margaret Talbot’s “Best in Class” is an enticing and informational article about the argument on whether or not Valedictorians are a good thing. Having one valedictorian has been a tradition in schools for many, many years; however, as times change, students are becoming more invested and determined in school, so many kids are missing being valedictorian by 0.001%. Therefore, Talbot brings to light both sides of the story in this extraordinary article. Although Margaret seems to not choose a side, it is obvious through her strong diction and testimonies that she believes that appointing a single valedictorian is an unfair custom throughout U.S. schools.

Read More

Analysis Of Margaret Talbot's Essay Best In Class

819 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the course of history, education has always been an important piece of humanity. Learning, studying, a rigid workload, and applying knowledge to the real world-that is what education is. From education came the valedictorian, a student who has received an academic title of success, and was meant to be a reward for students who deserved it. Even though it may be somewhat competitive, it was never meant to do any harm. In “Best in Class” Margaret Talbot conveys how she wants to keep the tradition of a single valedictorian but wishes to reduce how obsessive people get over it through her appeals to logos and her selective presentation.

Read More

David Brooks's Rhetorical Analysis Of The Other Education

1340 Words | 6 Pages

The Other Education Rhetorical Analysis David Brooks is a well-refined journalist for the New York Times News Paper Company. He writes many different controversial articles, that tends to focus around arguments of education. Within Brooks’ arguments he uses effective techniques to persuade the audience. In this specific column, he addresses society as a whole, but with special emphasis on students. David Brooks successfully persuades his audience through his presentation of his claim, his persuasive writing style, and his usage of emotional appeals.

Read More

Analysis Of David Mccullough's Speech You Are Not Special

589 Words | 3 Pages

Nour Harb Speech to Critique The speech “You’re Not Special” was given by David McCullough Jr., a teacher at Wellesley High School, at their 2012 commencement ceremony. The audience he spoke to was not only the graduating class, but the parents of those students, and teacher or administrators of that school. He gave a commemorative speech. David McCullough Jr. gave a speech to not only commend the graduates for all they’ve done but to urge them to know that they are not even close to finishing their journey.

Read More

Grade Inflation Causes And Consequences Essay

1032 Words | 5 Pages

Students are fully aware of the positive and negative consequences of grade inflation whether it is something as simple as a grade curve or as drastic as a student trying to bargain their way into graduation. However, another smaller issue that arises is the “participation trophy.” When doing something, everyone gets an equal amount of victory. When discussing this topic in class, I realized that many of my peers saw participation trophies and inflated grades as one in the same. Both items apparently trigger narcissism and false hope in children.

Read More

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Best In Class By Margaret Talbot

743 Words | 3 Pages

In Best in Class, Margaret Talbot explains how the position of valedictorian should be kept in the school system, though the gravity around holding the position as well as how it is chosen should be changed. She uses logos to appeal to her massively student-based audience, as well as selective presentation to keep focus on her argument, rather than anything else. In her appeal to logos, Talbot mentions how GPAs play a massive part of how a valedictorian is and was chosen. In explaining how important a GPA is, and how weighted classes make it overly easy to get over a 4.0, she sets up a background for why it is becoming so hard to chose valedictorian by grade point average alone.

Read More

Mrs. Weston By Isaac Asimov

1051 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the majority of Isaac Asimov’s “Robbie,” Mrs. Weston is not in favor of keeping the robot, Robbie. However, when the family is taking a tour around the U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation, as a particular scene of interest, Mrs. Weston conversely states that she is willing to take Robbie back. Regarding her resolution, Mrs. Weston can be interpreted as someone who embraces her role as a mother, a woman who claims agency by making the final decision, or a wife who expectedly concedes to her husband. First, after having just witnessed the threat to her daughter’s life, Mrs. Weston can be seen to step up and take on a motherly role. Initially, while traveling to New York and walking through the robot corporation tour, Mrs. Weston’s

Read More

Dana Gioia's Why Literature Matters

516 Words | 3 Pages

In this essay, "Why Literature Matters", author Dana Gioia sets up an argument about literature. Which she uses various ways to persuade her audience be in favor of her proposal; by showing statistic evidence, facts, and historical evidence, as well as some ironies, diction, and the appeals to reader's emotion. First of all, Gioia begins with strong appeals to reader's logos by clearly laying out the statistic source. For example, "According to the 2002 survey of Public Participation in the Arts, the reading population of the Americans is declining. " In turn, is an attempt to point out the thesis statement and make the readers to think out about this topic wile reading through her essay.

Read More

More about Best In Class By Margaret Talbot

Related Topics

Open Document