Strong Willpower Needs a Strong Mindset

Willpower. As a high school student, sometimes my willpower is lacking when there are seemingly "better" things to do like go out with my friends, a favorite television show, or a sports game. I have definitely had times of complete motivation and strong willpower and times of bad procrastination. This article caught my interest because what if there was a scientific way of obtaining a strong willpower? I would want to know it especially in that week with three papers and two major tests so I could get them all done. Some of the factors people have proposed to control willpower include biology, amount of glucose, and just a strong mindset. Well in this article's case, only one of these factors is right and it's a strong mindset. If you believe willpower doesn't have a limit, then you will procrastinate less and cut down on excess spending. And those with this mindset would perform well with or without consuming sugar. Amazing!

Greg Walton and Carol Dweck write the informative article "Willpower: It's in Your Head" with a logos appeal to their audience. The authors write of multiple studies conducted on willpower including Linda Bacon's biology control, Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney's glucose proposal, and their own mindset proposal with Veronika Job. This technique appeals to the logos of an audience and proves both authors as credible reporters on the topic. One study that Walton and Dweck write about is on 153 college students and how their mindset affected their willpower which appeals to the audience of anyone who has been to college or is planning on going to college. The two authors' opinions are very obvious in this article when they write of taking the other theories into consideration. They write, "But are these theories correct? We don't think so," (Walton, Dweck, 1). In the New York Times article written by Greg Walton and Carol Dweck, the two authors discover the main controller of strong willpower is a strong mindset.

Source: Walton, Greg, and Carol Dweck. "Willpower: It's In Your Head." The New York Times 26 Nov. 2011, sec. Opinion: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.

Talent Matters More Than Practice

When you were little and wanted to be able to spell a word, do a new soccer move, hit a baseball, or any other skill, what did your parents or coach or teacher say? Mine almost always said, "Practice makes perfect." Well that line just went right out the door after reading David Hambrick and Elizabeth Meinz's New York Times article "Sorry, Strivers: Talent Matters". Hambrick and Meinz write an informative article based on many research accounts. They write of how a person's intellectual ability matters a lot in their success of fields. Personally, I agree because that intellectual ability already gives someone an advantage over someone else who has to practice to get to the same level as them. However, I also believe that practice can help those without that outstanding intellect to succeed. Some of the most hard working people are the most successful, while those with that above average intellect can be arrogant at times.

The rhetorical techniques that Hambrick and Meinz use to appeal to their audience are very effective. The write with a large appeal to the logos of the audience because Hambrick and Meinz write about three different scientific research studies: one conducted by Florida State University, one conducted by Vanderbilt University, and one they conducted. This technique establishes Hambrick and Meinz as creditable authors with the audience. The descriptions of the studies prove that they know what they are talking about and that they did their research before compiling it all into the article. This article really makes the audience think about practice and intellectual ability when it comes to talent. One particular line that showed the authors' opinions was "None of this is to deny the power of practice. Nor is it to say that it's impossible for a person with an average I.Q. to say, earn a Ph.D. in physics. It's just unlikely, relatively speaking. Sometimes the story that science tells us isn't the story we want to hear," (Hambrick, Meinz 1). David Hambrick and Elizabeth Meinz write a convincing informative article about the need for intellectual ability to have a specific talent.

Source: Hambrick, David Z. , and Elizabeth J. Meinz. "Sorry, Strivers: Talent Matters." The New York Times 19 Nov. 2011, Sunday ed., sec. Opinion: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 20 Nov. 2011.