After four years of high school, after rigorous honors courses, after innumerable hours of studying, one student is named the valedictorian of their graduating class. Although this matter may be of the utmost importance to many, the actual significance of the award is questionable. In “Best In Class” by Margaret Talbot, the author uses student testimonies to support her point of view that obtaining the title of valedictorian is ultimately unimportant by establishing a disbelieving persona and an exaggerated tone. Margaret Talbot appears generally unbiased in her presentation of examples in her essay; however, by selecting specific testimonies, she subtly implies her perspective on the controversy regarding valedictorians. The author was told…show more content… By selecting this excerpt from their interview, Talbot emphasizes how little weight the highly regarded title carries even with those who have earned it. Although it’s faint, the author uses the statement from this student to establish a disbelieving persona; Talbot cannot comprehend why one would go to such extreme ends to ensure an honor which has little to no value. The application of a valedictorian’s testimony on the insignificance of the award hints to the audience Talbot’s point of view on the subject. Citing another incident, “the family” of a student who was to be passed over as valedictorian “hired a lawyer and sued the school district, the superintendent, and the principal of Valley View” (228). Talbot’s inclusion of a list of people and institutions included in the lawsuit reinforces her persona of disbelief by emphasizing the radical lengths that people will go to solely to secure a title. Though she cites a wide array of sources throughout her essay, the author tends to rely on…show more content… The author capitalizes off of the emotional diction used in a testimony by a student who took a valedictorian case to court to “make sure the school knew how traumatic” her experience was (Talbot 227). Utilizing the student’s excessively emotional statement, Talbot exposes her exaggeration and pettiness in response to such a trivial matter to show the reader how inconsequential becoming a valedictorian is. While the student meant what she said, the writer exploits her feelings to imply that there are numerous other situations that should be perceived as “traumatic”, yet a matter such as the decision of valedictorian is not among these. From the outside perspective of the reader, Talbot’s message is made lucid by using extreme and exaggerated examples. Additionally, the author refers to an instance of a valedictorian being selected with “a difference of .00154” in G.P.A between the top two students (Talbot 227). By using numerical data, Talbot allows the audience to perceive that this minute of a difference should ultimately be insignificant to both of the top candidates. Since they are so comparable in terms of grade point average, the readers can see that the title of valedictorian is ultimately worthless no matter the recipient. Magnifying this perspective on the issue, Talbot stresses to the reader the utter insignificance of the title of
