A Rhetorical Analysis Of Best In Class By Margaret Talbot

Students in school typically work long hours in order to achieve high standards academically. Those who achieve the highest grades are honored with the title of valedictorian. However, the title has been under attack as students and parents call for the title to either be extended to more students or abolished entirely. In “Best in class by Margaret Talbot, Talbot claims that schools should keep the single valedictorian system, but reduce its overall importance; she claims that using contrast and selective presentation. In her article, Talbot makes use of contrast in order to advocate her position. She describes the GPA of students today and compares it to the GPA of students twenty years ago; the grades of today’s students are about 0.26

She shows the perspective of many different people to show a seemingly neutral overview of the situation surrounding the status of valedictorian. Her frequent use of interviews and dialogue allows for her to show her opinion or position on the matter while still maintaining her status of neutrality; the claims simply appear to be the positions of others. The structure of her essay and positioning of her interviews also are deliberate and subtly support Talbot’s message. She grouped the interviews so that negative statements about valedictorians were positioned near the beginning and arranged the interviews with good outlooks on valedictorians near the end, separated by a chunk of historical context for the school system. The context used as a divider influences the reader to think the following interviews are stronger and more well reasoned because the audience has information to relate what the speakers are saying to. This establishes the intent behind the essay as the layout encourages the perception of the positive interviews as well written. In “Best in Class” by Margaret Talbot, the use of contrast and selective presentation clearly establishes the author's message that the single valedictorian system is should stay, yet be reduced in overall importance. Though the title has been heavily criticized, it ultimately serves as a reward to the hard work students put forth. Talbot uses her article to