TOW #25: "AP Classes Are a Scam" by John Tierny

In “AP Classes Are a Scam,” journalist John Tierny writes about how College Board is scamming students by offering so-called college-level classes (when they are really not) and making large profits off of millions of high schoolers. He uses a condescending tone, listing, and plebeian diction in order to urge parents and students to be wary of the tricks College Board plays to make money.

Throughout the article, Tierny uses a condescending tone in order to show his disapproval of College Board. He opens up describing Advanced Placement courses as “one of the great frauds currently perpetrated on American high-school students.” He constantly attacks College Board for its fraudulence and effectively uses his tone as a way to convey his emotions. This impacts readers by also giving them these same ill feelings that Tierny has.

After giving his position on College Board, he supports his argument by listing off the main reasons as to why he believes Advanced Placement is a scam. He says things such as the fact that many of these courses are not nearly college level to the fact that “the AP classroom is where intellectual curiosity goes to die.” By listing many of the weaknesses and flaws of Advanced Placement courses, Tierny is able to allow readers to inductively come to the same conclusions that he has about these courses.

Given that his audience is parents and students, Tierny also uses plebeian diction in order to connect better with his readers. For example, he says, “My beef with AP courses isn't novel.” “My beef” is more of a colloquial and slang phrase that many young people would use in America. By doing this, Tierny is able to connect with his audience of both students and parents and convey his message in a more captivating way.

Despite all this, there is one major flaw in Tierny’s article. This is the fact that he spends all his time speaking invectively towards College Board and fails to include counterargument refutation. By leaving out a refutation of the positive aspects of Advanced Placement, Tierny fails to convince those who believe that the positives of Advanced Placement outweigh the negatives. Despite this, he uses strong rhetoric, allowing more people to be wary when it comes to Advanced Placement courses.

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