63 point
Can We Trust Gladwell’s Outliers
Maybe not! Fill in the blanks to see.

In an argumentative text, the author must include evidence from research to prove their thesis. We readers must EVALUATE that evidence, judging if it’s accurate.

Let’s do that for Outliers, beginning with Gladwell’s CLAIM, or thesis, which ends his first paragraph:
The closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play.

. . .

1. _" Achievement is talent plus preparation. The problem with this view is that the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role
(you paraphrase Gladwell’s thesis here)


Now, let’s evaluate the evidence Gladwell gives in support, starting with PARAGRAPH 2, when he cites a study:
Exhibit A in the talent argument is a study done in the early 1990s by the psychologist K. Anders Ericsson and two colleagues at Berlin's elite Academy of Music

2a. What’s the name of the main researcher for this study? Dr. Daniel Levitin

2b. What qualifications (job) does this researcher have? To test people strength by seeing before eand after the violin is played

2c. What are the date and location of his study?


Now, let’s evaluate the procedure Ericsson and his colleagues used to conduct the study. Gladwell writes:

With the help of the Academy’s professors, [the psychologists] divided the school’s violinists into three groups. In the first group were the stars, the students with the potential to become world-class soloists. In the second were those judged to be merely “good.” In the third were students who were unlikely to
ever play professionally and who intended to be music teachers in the public school system. All of
the violinists were then asked the same question: over the course of your entire career, ever since
you first picked up the violin, how many hours have you practiced?

The reader should read closely to look for examples of FAULTY LOGIC. For example, the text states that the Academy’s professors helped divide the students. But the text does not include the criteria the professors used (how they decided who was world-class or good). What do you think: Could these professors be BIASED