The subject of this critical essay is a lecture by Angela Lee Duckworth, that they gave during their Ted Talk titled Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. They explained, how the IQ of her students was not the main predictor of academic performance in the math class they taught. Duckworth is mainly trying to persuade the audience that educators should focus on building grit in the students, while they also informed the listeners on some psychological mechanisms of learning.
The author uses several literary devices to persuade the audience of the correctness of their thesis, such as rhetorical questions and comparisons. They cite personal experience as an educator and as a researcher. Duckworth also presents well-constructed and well-presented arguments and articulates them in an engaging and entertaining manner. The author assumes that through building greater grit, which is defined by them as passion and perseverance for very long-term goals, it is possible to greatly improve the academic performance of any student(TED). To that end, Duckworth advises to turn to psychological studies.
It is possible to say, that Duckworth is successful in her realizing her purpose to persuade the listener not only by the positive reaction of the present audience but by personal experience. It is possible to agree, that author’s claim is entirely plausible and grit is vital both for education and any other aspect of life. Even the greatest talents need to develop their skills to achieve mastery, which is impossible without grit, as defined by Duckworth. Even the greatest potential needs to be acted upon to achieve meaningful results.
However, one can assume that Duckworth’s approach is not the be-all and end-all solution to academic performance. The United States overall has a culture of overworking to the detriment of personal health. Of course, a good work ethic is a positive trait, but we should be rather cautious when instilling such a trait in young minds. It is possible to assume that not every problem, academic or otherwise, could be solved through sheer determination to perform any amount of work until the task is completed. This approach may cause unnecessary stress and create unhealthy relationships with the work in the future.
In conclusion, it is possible to agree with Angela Lee Duckworth’s thesis and persuasive arguments. Indeed, the ability to stay focused on a long-term goal for an extended period of time is an invaluable skill both in academia and in general life. However, this approach calls for nuance in its implementation, in order to prioritize the mental health of the students.
In order to write the essay above provided Tips for Analysis Essays and Critical Analysis and Evaluation materials were used. First, Critical Analysis and Evaluation document provided a definition of critique. This help to frame the writing of an essay as searching for positive and negative aspects of Duckworth’s work. It also provided a clear structure for expressing an opinion on the matter. It also explained the thought process behind forming an informed opinion on criticized material in two steps. The first step is to carefully examine the material while taking notes. The second step is to ask deeper questions, furthering the understanding of the material.
Second, Tips for Analysis Essays provided stylistic guides for the text, as well as suggested structure for an essay. First, it advises summarizing the author’s thesis, which is vital for a critique essay, because the reader needs the context to understand the comments made further in the essay. It also contained such advice as to not list all of the observations, made during the examination of the material, which was helpful in making the text of an essay more concise and readable. Another tip was to examine the source material more than once. This helped in crafting different aspects of the essay, first to find the main thesis of the author, then to identify their arguments and literary devices used to deliver the information.
Work Cited
“Grit: the power of passion and perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth”, YouTube, uploaded by TED, Web.