The author identifies the claim made in a New York Times article that three traits drive success: superiority complex, insecurity, and impulse control. The article provides statistical evidence about the high earnings and representation in high-powered careers of certain immigrant groups in America. It also discusses how these three traits have contributed to the success of groups like Indian-, Iranian-, and Chinese-Americans, as well as Mormons and Jews. Finally, the author notes how the article asserts these same three traits have propelled U.S. national success and exceptionalism over time.

1. Success Traits: An Analysis of Persuasive Text
By Jackie Gingrich Cushman

2. An Analysis of Persuasive Arguments
•Free PowerPoint Version at
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3. Success Traits
An Analysis of Persuasive Text
A Common Core Lesson
By
Dean Berry, Ed. D.
Gregg Berry, B. A.
Common Core Curriculum Solutions
www.commoncorecurriculum.info

4. Skip the Skill Reading Review
If you have already practiced the special reading
skills taught in this series of lessons, you can skip
ahead to slide 32 and start the reading selection.

5. Reading with Your Eyes and Your Brain
Skillful readers learn how to read persuasive or
opinionated text with a very critical eye. They
realize that the author’s purpose is to convince the
reader to believe what the author is saying and to
consider the arguments given as valid even if they
violate logical reasoning and lack supporting
evidence. The author’s motive may be to get the
reader to buy something, vote a certain way,
change an attitude, or behave differently.

6. • In order to avoid manipulation by the author, good
readers learn how to detect poor reasoning and faulty
arguments. They are able to identify the various
logical fallacies or smoke screens that attempt to
cover up the lack of strong supporting evidence for
each claim. During this lesson, we will examine an
article and separate the fluff from the substance and
determine whether or not we believe the author
makes a strong or weak argument.

7. What does a good reader look for?
As you read the following article, attempt to separate the
unimportant language and innuendo from the heart of the
matter. Look for the primary message that contains the claim or
claims that the author is making. As a reader, your job is to look
for arguments that support the author’s claim and include
reasonable examples and factual statements. However,
recognizing the claim and supporting evidence takes practice.

8. Take a Few Notes
Complete the chart below using the
information provided in the following frame.
You will need this chart for the following
frame.
• Author’s Claim:
• Evidence:
• Reasoning:

9. Author’s Claim: May be an answer to the question
posed, a proposed solution to the problem, or the thesis
of the persuasive text.
Evidence: Could include appropriate analogies,
clearly presented facts, statistical data, quotations or
testimonials, or anecdotal examples.
Reasoning: Should explain how the evidence
supports the claim and needs to avoid using logical
fallacies.
Three Essential Requirements
for a Persuasive Argument

10. Recognizing the thesis sentence
and author’s claim is critical
The thesis sentence or claim is typically the ONE
sentence in the text that asserts, controls, and
structures the entire argument. Without a strong
persuasive, thoughtful thesis or claim, an article might
seem unfocused, weak, and not worth the reader's time.
• A good thesis sentence will make a claim.
• A good thesis sentences will control the entire
• argument
• A good thesis will provide a structure for the author’s
argument.

11. Let’s Practice Writing Some Claims
• Select two of the topics below and write a statement for each that
makes a claim about how to solve a problem.
• Decreasing Gang Activity
• Getting Children to Mind
• Reducing Traffic Accidents
• Increasing Jobs for Young People
• Reducing Poverty

12. How much evidence is provided by the author?
When you read the article, examine the author’s
claim and determine if the supporting evidence is
adequate to substantiate the claim. After reading
the selection, you will be asked to develop an
outline showing the claim and supporting
arguments with examples and factual statements.

13. What does evidence look like?
When we read a persuasive text, we must read very closely to ensure that the
arguments that are presented include very specific, credible evidence. For example,
we should look for statistical data such as numbers and scores, analogies that
compare similar claims and solutions, quotations or testimonials supporting the
claims, or anecdotal examples that substantiate the claim.

14. What does the research say?
1.Statistical Evidence
• Statistical evidence is the kind of data people tend
to look for first when trying to prove a point. That’s
not surprising when you consider how prevalent it
is in today’s society. Remember those McDonald’s
signs that said “Over 1 billion served”? How about
those Trident chewing gum commercials that say
“4 out of 5 dentists recommend chewing sugarless
gum”? Every time you use numbers to support a
main point, you’re relying on statistical evidence to
carry your argument.

15. What do you think?
Use your imagination
What are some possible types
of statistical evidence?
Accidental Gun Deaths
Polluted Ocean
Americans Life Span?

16. What do the experts say?
2. Testimonial Evidence
• Testimonial evidence is another type of evidence
that is commonly turned to by people trying to
prove a point. Commercials that use
spokespersons to testify about the quality of a
company’s product, lawyers who rely on eye-
witness accounts to win a case, and students who
quote an authority in their essays are all using
testimonial evidence.

17. Stand and Deliver
Who can give us a testimonial about one
of these?
Peps Cola
Baskins Robbins ice Cream
LA Fitness Gym
Big Mac Cheese Burger

18. Do personal observations
support the claim?
3. Anecdotal Evidence
• Often dismissed as untrustworthy and meaningless,
anecdotal evidence is one of the more underutilized
types of evidence. Anecdotal evidence is evidence
that is based on a person’s observations of the
world. It can actually be very useful for disproving
generalizations because all you need is one example
that contradicts a claim.

19. •Be careful when using this type of
evidence to try and support your
claims. One example of a non-native
English speaker who has perfect grammar
does NOT prove that ALL non-native English
speakers have perfect grammar. All the
anecdote can do is disprove the claim that
all immigrants who are non-native English
speakers have terrible grammar.

20. You CAN use this type of evidence to support
claims, though, if you use it in conjunction
with other types of evidence. Personal
observations can serve as wonderful
examples to introduce a topic and build it up –
just make sure you include statistical
evidence so the reader of your paper doesn’t
question whether your examples are just
isolated incidents.

21. Use Your Imagination
• Create an anecdote or personal observation about
a situation and solution that seems to work very
well. Use one of the following topics:
• Car Pool Lanes
• Bacterial Infection and Antibiotic
• Needing Transportation and Uber

22. Do similar situations provide evidence?
4. Analogical Evidence
• The last type of evidence is called analogical
evidence. It is also underutilized, but this time for a
reason. Analogies are mainly useful when dealing with
a topic that is under-researched. If you are on the
cutting edge of an issue, you’re the person breaking
new ground. When you don’t have statistics to refer to
or other authorities on the matter to quote, you have to
get your evidence from somewhere. Analogical
evidence steps in to save the day.

23. • Take the following example: You work
for a company that is considering
turning some land into a theme park. On
that land there happens to be a river
that your bosses think would make a
great white-water rafting ride. They’ve
called on you to assess whether or not
that ride would be a good idea.

24. • Since the land in question is as yet undeveloped,
you have no casualty reports or statistics to refer
to. In this case, you can look to other rivers with
the same general shape to them, altitude,
etc. and see if any white-water rafting casualties
have occurred on those rivers. Although the rivers
are different, the similarities between them should
be strong enough to give credibility to your
research. Realtors use the same type of
analogical evidence when determining the value
of a home.
• When you use analogies to support your claims,
always remember their power.

25. How do you evaluate the author’s claim?

26. Let’s Review These Ideas
Discuss and Take Some Notes
• What are some types of evidence that we might
look for?
• What kind of emotional appeals might the author
use? How should the reader deal with these?
• Why should we expect the author to recognize or
refute opposing claims?
Also, take notes on the following page so you can
use these prompts when you read the article.

27. When we read the article, use these
phrases to record your notes showing
the evidence used in the text.
•According to the text…
•The author stated…
•For instance…
•For example…
•Because…
Copy These Prompts

28. Annotating the text as you perform
close reading is a great way to
ensure effective critical reading.

29. As you take margin notes, identify
assumptions, opinions, faulty arguments,
weak or strong evidence, and key words
or phrases.

30. How much evidence is provided by the author?
Examine the claim for the amount of
supporting evidence that directly relates to
the claim. After reading the selection, you will
be asked to develop an outline showing the
claim and supporting arguments with
examples and factual statements.

31. Let’s annotate part of the text. Read the following
pages and copy the sections that include the claim
and supporting arguments. As you write them on
your paper, circle the claim and identify the
arguments and evidence.
• Circle the Claim
•Underline the supporting arguments
•Box in each type of evidence

32. As parents of two middle schoolers (eighth grade and sixth)
my husband and I spend time attempting to help them
develop characteristics that we believe are useful and good.
Looking others in the eye when talking, a firm handshake
and the ability to carry on a conversation are just a few of
these skills. We encourage them to work hard and do well in
school. We put emphasis on them working hard and doing
their best, rather than the outcome or the grade itself.
Success Traits
By Jackie Gingrich Cushman

33. Like most parents, we want our children to be
successful. A recent New York Times article,
"What Drives Success," by two Yale Law School
professors and the authors of the forthcoming
book "The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely
Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups
in America," has given me pause. Are we helping
them develop the traits that will lead to success?

34. According to Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld,
three key traits drive success. While all
Americans might have equal opportunity to
become economically successful, the
authors point out that the statistics of group
success (and failure) provide evidence that
opportunity does not necessarily translate
into a given outcome.

35. Indian-Americans earn almost double the
national figure (roughly $90,000 per year in
median household income versus $50,000).
Iranian-, Lebanese- and Chinese-Americans
are also top-earners

36. In the last 30 years, Mormons have become
leaders of corporate America, holding top
positions in many of America's most recognizable
companies. These facts don't make some groups
'better' than others, and material success cannot
be equated with a well-lived life," they wrote, "But
willful blindness to facts is never a good policy."

37. Jewish success is the most historically fraught and
the most broad-based. Although Jews make up only
about 2 percent of the United States' adult
population, they account for a third of the current
Supreme Court; over two-thirds of Tony Award-
winning lyricists and composers; and about a third
of American Nobel laureates," they point out.

38. Finding the author’s claim can require reading
several pages before it is actually stated.
See if you can identify the author’s claim
on the next few pages. Write it down.

39. “ It turns out that for all their diversity,
the strikingly successful groups in
America today share three traits that,
together, propel success.”

40. The first is a superiority complex — a deep-seated
belief in their exceptionality. The second appears
to be the opposite — insecurity, a feeling that you
or what you've done is not good enough. The third
is impulse control," they conclude.

41. Did you find the claim?
Share your claim
with the class.

42. Find the arguments and
evidence that support the
claim. Take careful notes.

43. The superiority complex provides the belief that success
is possible, and insecurity is the engine that drives the
behavior to work harder than others. The combination of
the two is powerful. Impulse control allows for continued
focus on the end result (whether completion of a task, a
project or achievement of a goal) rather than being
distracted into doing something frivolous and
unimportant.

44. The authors point out that these traits not only
drive success in individuals and groups, but also
in nations. "The United States itself was born a
Triple Package nation, with an outsize belief in its
own exceptionality, a goading desire to prove
itself to aristocratic Europe (Thomas Jefferson
sent a giant moose carcass to Paris to prove that
America's animals were bigger than Europe's) and
a Puritan inheritance of impulse control."

45. It's not only our heritage as a
nation, but our continued belief in
our exceptionalism as a nation, that
propels us forward. Every
generation has it's own form of
insecurity based on the external
threats from other nations.

46. The one trait that seems to be the most useful is
the ability to control impulses. Impulse control is
a self-reinforcing mechanism, if hard work is
actually rewarded with a good outcome. It's
harder to acquire this trait if hard work is not
rewarded or if a reward is given for no work at all.

47. • If these traits are important to driving
success, then how might they be instilled in
more people? Is it possible for multiple groups
to believe that they each are superior to the
other? Instead of instilling a sense of fairness
and equality, and ensuring a confident child,
should we intentionally instill a little doubt, to
make sure that the feeling of insecurity drives
them to work a little harder?
• To find out more about Jackie Gingrich Cushman, and read features by other
Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.
• COPYRIGHT 2014 JACKIE CUSHMAN

48. How much evidence is provided by the author?
Examine your notes and complete the
following chart. Clarify your claim statement
and list the supporting evidence that directly
relates to the claim. Include supporting
arguments with examples and factual
statements. Complete this using your own
paper.

49. Share Your Annotations
• Read the claim you identified to the
class
• Read one of the supporting arguments
• Explain of type of evidence, if any, that
the author used

50. Let’s analyze the complexity
of the author’s claim.
Read the article again and identify
how the author developed the claim
and applied it to three different levels.
As you read, continue to collect
specific evidence to support the
author’s claim.

51. Success Traits
BY Jackie Gingrich Cushman
As parents of two middle schoolers (eighth grade and sixth)
my husband and I spend time attempting to help them
develop characteristics that we believe are useful and good.
Looking others in the eye when talking, a firm handshake
and the ability to carry on a conversation are just a few of
these skills. We encourage them to work hard and do well in
school. We put emphasis on them working hard and doing
their best, rather than the outcome or the grade itself.

52. Like most parents, we want our children to be
successful. A recent New York Times article,
"What Drives Success," by two Yale Law School
professors and the authors of the forthcoming
book "The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely
Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups
in America," has given me pause. Are we helping
them develop the traits that will lead to success?

53. According to Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld,
three key traits drive success. While all
Americans might have equal opportunity to
become economically successful, the
authors point out that the statistics of group
success (and failure) provide evidence that
opportunity does not necessarily translate
into a given outcome.

54. Indian-Americans earn almost double the
national figure (roughly $90,000 per year in
median household income versus $50,000).
Iranian-, Lebanese- and Chinese-Americans
are also top-earners

55. In the last 30 years, Mormons have become
leaders of corporate America, holding top
positions in many of America's most recognizable
companies. These facts don't make some groups
'better' than others, and material success cannot
be equated with a well-lived life," they wrote, "But
willful blindness to facts is never a good policy."

56. Jewish success is the most historically fraught and
the most broad-based. Although Jews make up only
about 2 percent of the United States' adult
population, they account for a third of the current
Supreme Court; over two-thirds of Tony Award-
winning lyricists and composers; and about a third
of American Nobel laureates," they point out.

57. “ It turns out that for all their diversity,
the strikingly successful groups in
America today share three traits that,
together, propel success.”

58. The first is a superiority complex — a deep-seated
belief in their exceptionality. The second appears
to be the opposite — insecurity, a feeling that you
or what you've done is not good enough. The third
is impulse control," they conclude.

59. The superiority complex provides the belief that success
is possible, and insecurity is the engine that drives the
behavior to work harder than others. The combination of
the two is powerful. Impulse control allows for continued
focus on the end result (whether completion of a task, a
project or achievement of a goal) rather than being
distracted into doing something frivolous and
unimportant.

60. The authors point out that these traits not only
drive success in individuals and groups, but also
in nations. "The United States itself was born a
Triple Package nation, with an outsize belief in its
own exceptionality, a goading desire to prove
itself to aristocratic Europe (Thomas Jefferson
sent a giant moose carcass to Paris to prove that
America's animals were bigger than Europe's) and
a Puritan inheritance of impulse control."

61. It's not only our heritage as a
nation, but our continued belief in
our exceptionalism as a nation, that
propels us forward. Every
generation has it's own form of
insecurity based on the external
threats from other nations.

62. Read the last two pages very closely.
• Does the author imply that his/her claim
is definitely the only answer to the
problem of creating successful people?
How do you know?
• Does the author open the door to future
research? Cite the text in your answer.

63. The one trait that seems to be the most useful is
the ability to control impulses. Impulse control is
a self-reinforcing mechanism, if hard work is
actually rewarded with a good outcome. It's
harder to acquire this trait if hard work is not
rewarded or if a reward is given for no work at all.

64. • If these traits are important to driving success,
then how might they be instilled in more people? Is
it possible for multiple groups to believe that they
each are superior to the other? Instead of instilling
a sense of fairness and equality, and ensuring a
confident child, should we intentionally instill a
little doubt, to make sure that the feeling of
insecurity drives them to work a little harder?
• To find out more about Jackie Gingrich Cushman, and read features by other Creators
Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.
• COPYRIGHT 2014 JACKIE CUSHMAN

65. Let’s Talk
•How might you summarize the
article you just read?
•What was the author’s main point
in writing the article?

66. Verbalize Your Summary
Using several sentences, turn
to another student and tell
them the main point of the
article.

67. Quick Write
How might you summarize the
article you just read? Use a
couple of sentences to write a
summary of the article.