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How Does Arthur Brooks Four Rules For Identify Your Life's Work

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Arthur Brooks, is a world renowned writer, Harvard professor, and columnist through The Atlantic in which he has written several pieces of writing over the years. Four Rules for Identifying Your Life’s Work, talks about four rules that will help you find your marshmallow. It also includes an intended audience of high school graduates and the way it impacts them the most in this whole new chapter in their life. Arthur Brooks' intended audience is about to enter college and he feels it’s important to identify their life's work using these four rules. To begin with, Arthur Brooks develops the idea of finding your marshmallow throughout the entire article. Brooks talks about finding your marshmallow or your purpose of life throughout each one …show more content…

It only takes 4 rules to identify your life's work according to Arthur Brooks. The article Four Rules for Identifying Your Life’s Work is a must read, eye opening article by Arthur Brooks that offers insight on finding your life’s purpose or marshmallow in a simple four rules. Arthur Brooks uses several methods like ethos, pathos, and logos in order to captivate the freshly graduated seniors and to develop the article and his four rules. Brooks also includes several studies, and personal details and accounts to further validate his credibility. To start off with, Arthur Brooks targets newly graduated seniors using logos in his article Four Rules for Identifying Your Life’s Work. Arthur Brooks includes a wide range of studies like the marshmallow experiment with preschool kids, and then the Work, Passion, Pursuit questionnaire. These studies target two different age groups and have two different “tests”, yet still connect to the main point of the article. The studies provide a better understanding of where Arthur Brooks got his rules from and they support his four rules further developing his credibility. Additionally, by including all of these studies, researchers, personal accounts, and data Brooks is able to prove his message, and convince the reader of his four rules. After including stats Brooks includes his take on the matter. Brooks elaborates, “...is a helpful litmus test of whether a job could be or could lead to your marshmallow” (2). Brooks …show more content…

Throughout the entire article Brooks is able to develop a direct emotional connection with the reader by talking about finding your marshmallow within each of his four rules. In each of his four rules he offers a personal story or detail that allows you to personally relate to his life and your own life. To develop this emotional connection with the reader he starts off by talking about graduation ceremonies. Since Brooks intended audience is newly graduated seniors this hits home with readers because they are sitting in the exact same boat that Brooks has described in the article. By doing this he’s making the reader want to read more and in order to keep the reader's attention he provides even more personal stories and details that further attracts the reader. Continuing, about finding your marshmallow, Brooks implies,“My marshmallow wasn’t any of the specific jobs I’ve held, but rather the professional adventures I have enjoyed, the skills I have gained, and the people who have touched my life” (3). This develops that personal connection because he’s giving his own personal life’s purpose which allows the reader to connect and trust the author. Brooks claims, “I think we should seek work that is a balance of enjoyable and meaningful” (2). By making this claim, Brooks is supporting his second rule and also supporting the evidence surrounding the idea of

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