In Drive, Daniel Pink argues that autonomy, mastery, and purpose motivate
people more than external rewards or punishments. What is your take on his
argument? Perhaps some brainstorming questions may help you to get started:
1. Does Daniel Pink’s theory of success work when one of the elements (Autonomy,
Mastery, and/or Purpose) is taken out? Consider some of the ideas presented by
your peers on the discussion board.
2. To what degree are children – who may be young, inexperienced, and
unmotivated – influenced by autonomy or other intrinsic motivations? Can
autonomy lead them to the right choices? How much autonomy should they have
over their education? At home?
3. Examine the role of purpose in achieving success. You might consider whether a
person can be successful without intrinsic purpose or when or how it develops.
4. Consider Pink’s theories from a social perspective. How does society play into
autonomy, mastery, and/or purpose?
These questions may help you as you begin to pre-write (freewriting, journaling,
mind-mapping, outlining, drafting). Whichever pre-writing strategy works best for
you, employ it in order to begin to form a working draft. This pre-writing is essential
in providing you, the writer, with a firm grip on the author’s ideas, and your job is to
present his ideas fairly and unbiasedly. You have to essentially provide CONTEXT
for your AUDIENCE. See below.
Essay Requirements
1. Length: 5 pages
2. Essay type: Argumentative
3. Audience: Students NOT enrolled in this class
4. Voice: Academic English
5. Structure: MLA format, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12. Your paper
should have an Intro. section, a thesis statement that
is highlighted or bolded, body paragraphs, a conclusion and works cited
page.
6. Sources: Cite from Drive, and one outside research article. This must be
from a reputable source
7. Topic sentences: that state the main point of each body paragraph
8. Textual support: in each body paragraph: Introduce, cite, and explain your
support. Please also include a Works Cited Page
9. Sentences: No run-ons or comma splices