Throughout the years, grades have lost their prestige. There are a plethora of factors that could have played in the downfall of grades; for example, most grades are given not earned, grades are inflated, etc. Professor Rebecca Schuman states her position on grades a numerous of times in her essay. Professor Schuman is very anti-grades and she shows the reader that with her use of the rhetorical devices: sarcasm and rhetorical questions. Her use of these devices help develop her argument throughout her essay.

Professor Schuman utilises sarcasm in her essay to connect herself with the reader, get her point across in a non-insulting manner, and develop her argument. She applies sarcasm when telling the reader her student stories; for example,