In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, he discusses his theory on the many factors that have led to others’ success. Some of his theories include the “10,000 Hour Rule,” which states that someone cannot master something unless they repeat the process for 10,000 hours (e.g. Bill Gate’s 10,000 hours of coding led to his success in creating Microsoft), and the “Theory of Plane Crashes,” which says that the most effective structure of leadership is where the most assertive people go in the lowest positions and the least assertive go in the highest positions.
When talking about his “Theory of Plane Crashes,” he says, “Planes are safer with the least experienced pilot is flying, because it means the second pilot isn't afraid to speak up.” Just like with this theory, many of his theories can come across as ridiculous and controversial. However, they are well-supported with data and statistics with strong anecdotes, which helps to validate his claims. In effect, this book has little appeal to the readers’ pathos and a strong appeal to the readers’ logos with his strong reasoning. This also helps to build his ethos. His ideas can pertain to the business world, as many of his thoughts align with success in the business world
In addition to a strong appeal to the readers’ logos, he uses ordinary diction, which helps him to achieve his purpose, as his goal is to help show people what it takes to be success, no matter how educated the reader is. His ordinary diction allows anyone to understand his ideas.
Overall, the devices that Gladwell uses in Outliers helps him to build a serious and neutral tone. This helps him to achieve his purpose because if he used an unserious tone, it would ruin his credibility (since Outliers is solely based on reasoning). It is because of this that he is able to clearly get his ideas out and successfully achieve his purpose to teach his readers the factors of success.
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