Author's Argument #3: Outliers

In the book Outliers: The Story of Success (2008) by Malcolm Gladwell the main idea is revealing the truth about success. The author first gives background information on his examples by telling of a specific scenario, then he uses these examples to propose his ideas usind statistics, and lastly he concludes with a summary and reflection of his ideas. The purpose of this book is to show that opportunity, not extreme intelligence, is what helps one become successful. The audience could be any young person trying to be successful.

1.addendum-an addition
2.tarmac-a brand of bituminous binder
3.cajoling-to persuade by flattery or promises
4.gradients-the degree of inclination
5.efficacy-capacity of producing desired result or effect
6.disparagement-something that derogates or casts in a bad light
7.jibe-to shift from one side to another when running against the wind
8.pernicious-causing insidious harm or ruin
9.progeny-a descendent or offspring as a child, plant, or animal
10.paradigms-an example serving as a model
11.unambiguously-unclear; distinct;unequivocal

The tone of this book is informative

1.statistics-"To put that record in perspective, the 'loss' rate for an airline that the American carrier United Airlines in the period 1988 to 1998 was .27 per million deparures, which means that they lost a plane in an accident about once every four million flights. The loss rate for Korean Air, in the same period, was 4.79 per million departures- more than seventeen times higher." (180)
2.addage-"No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a tear fails to make his family rich."(224)
3.periodic sentence-"He had flown into Guam airport from Kimpo eight times previously, most recently a month ago, and he knew the airport and the surrounding terrain well."(178)
4.telegraphic sentence-"He napped and ate lunch"(177); "The captain chuckled"(178); "It's tiny."(232)
5.colloquilism-"Chea eom boeb seom ni da."(214)

• Why did the author spend so much more time on the Korean airlines than the other sections?
• Why were there so many italics used in this section?
• Are there other opportunities that have not been specified in the book that can help one be successful?

"It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky-but all critical to making them who they are. The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all."(285)