Ted talk: The Key to

Success? Grit.By Angela Lee

duckworth (2013)

The Key to Success? Grit.

In 2013, Angela Lee Duckworth delivered a Ted Talk about “grit.” (the subject)

Duckworth was lead to deliver this speech based on her initial observations about intelligence and success in the classroom. (context)

Rhetorical analysis:

Duckworth’s thesis: Success is more a product of grit (or resilience) than natural intelligence or talent

Duckworth’s purpose: Duckworth wants educators, parents, and influential individuals to invest more time and energy into investigating and advocating for “grit” when teaching, mentoring, or encouraging young people.

Duckworth’s intended audience: individuals who influence, teach, advise, work with, or study young people who are attempting to be successful

Strategy #1 Duckworth develops her credibility by starting with her

background in “management consulting,” which she traces through her teaching experience and research in graduate school (ethos).

Purpose or Effect of Strategy: This strategy establishes Duckworth as a trustworthy individual. We see her as someone who can be believed when it comes to the topic of “success” since she herself has been successful in a series of jobs and studies; we can also believe her because she has worked with and studied individuals who are or are trying to be successful.

Evidence: “When I was 27 years old, I left a very demanding job in management consulting for a job that was even more demanding: teaching…After several more years of teaching…So I left the classroom, and I went to graduate school to become a psychologist. I started studying kids and adults in all kinds of super challenging settings”

Strategy #2

Duckworth uses a wide variety of examples and scenarios where she studied and researched individuals attempting to become successful

Purpose or Effect of Strategy: The purpose of listing the assortment of scenarios where she studied success helps develop the believability of her claim when she says “grit” is most responsible for success. If she saw this quality in a variety of situations (and not just one), it’s more likely to be true because its presence is balanced.

Evidence: “My research team and I went to West Point Military Academy… We went to the National Spelling Bee… We studied rookie teachers working in really tough neighborhoods… We partnered with private companies, asking, which of these salespeople is going to keep their jobs?”

STRATEGY #3 Duckworth uses the word “Grit” to describe

what is essentially the quality of resilience when determining indicators or qualities for success.

Purpose of Strategy: Using the word “grit” instead of “resilience” implies that she found and is discussing a unique quality and not just a common sense conclusion. Using the word “grit” also makes her more relatable to more rural or “folksy” individuals who actually use the words on a daily basis.

Evidence: “Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.”

Strategy #4 Duckworth logically appeals to her audience by citing evidence

that “proves” her claim about the effectiveness of “grit” in determining success.

Purpose or Effect of Strategy: Citing research or evidence in support of her claim is support to “prove” that her claim about grit is true because evidence is what we based our decisions on in most logical cases. Since she possesses evidence for her claim, we have reason to believe her claim may be a fact, as opposed to thinking this is just her opinion.

Evidence: “In all those very different contexts, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. And it wasn't social intelligence. It wasn't good looks, physical health, and it wasn't IQ. It was grit… Turns out that grittier kids were significantly more likely to graduate, even when I matched them on every characteristic I could measure, things like family income, standardized achievement test scores, even how safe kids felt when they were at school. So it's not just at West Point or the National Spelling Bee that grit matters. It's also in school, especially for kids at risk for dropping out.”

Strengths and weaknesses STRENGTHS: Duckworth succeeds by using a

conversational tone that is inviting and appealing to everyone. She also succeeds in establishing her credibility on the topic by citing her experiences and study subjects.

WEAKNESSES: Duckworth fails to account for the fact that resilience to adversity can be taught at an early age—yes, the quality is innate to an extent, but it can be emphasized when raising children, which will create a larger degree of “grit” than if an instance where resilience is never taught or emphasized.