The Beatles, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, professional hockey players, and solo violinists all have one thing in common. Malcolm Gladwell, author of “Outliers,” is able to effectively link these different parts together through his “10,000 Hour Rule.” Gladwell states that “practice is not the thing you do once you get good. It's the thing that makes you good” (42). Using rhetorical devices, Gladwell effectively conveys how overall success can be discerned from historical and recurring patterns or events. Malcolm Gladwell also established himself as a respectable author. Using supported statistics, easily illustrated templates, and well-known examples, Gladwell fulfills the logo's appeal. Furthermore, thanks to his highly successful works "The Boiling Point" and "Blink", Gladwell proves his credibility as an author. Gladwell's main purpose is to teach his audience about the pattern of success and why some people have been successful or not. This audience consists of those who want to succeed and want to create as many possibilities to achieve their goal. Their main values are achieving success for themselves. Another possible audience is a group that likes statistics and models. These models show that after approximately 10,000 practices at an activity, the person becomes very proficient at that activity. Citing the Beatles, Bill Joy, and Bill Gates as examples, Gladwell demonstrates that practice can make perfect. Malcolm Gladwell states that to reach a level of proficiency you need to practice that activity for 10,000 hours. Using rhetorical devices, tone, and logos, Gladwell effectively supports his claim of the 10,000 hour rule. Gladwell's writing style begins with explaining or presenting an example of someone who is successful in a field. He then quickly refutes the reader… halfway through the paper… a well-defended argument, and was able to reinforce it well with hard evidence, rhetorical devices, and tone. Gladwell effectively uses rhetorical devices, tone, and hard evidence to support his assertion of the 10,000 hour rule. By using rhetorical devices such as parallelism, facts and statistics (logos), and writing style, Gladwell reinforces his idea of practice. Malcolm Gladwell uses his evidence to get the reader to really think of those who succeed as hard workers, not just "lucky." It illustrates how many well-known experts have become legends in their field. This not only shows how software tycoons and tycoons have become rich or successful, but the reader can too: by following the old advice "practice makes perfect". Works Cited Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The success story. New York: Little, Brown and, 2008. ________Print
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