Stand the Pressure

In chapter 1 of Bridging the Gap, the article "Can You Stand the Pressure?" written by Calvin Mackie, describes pressure. The main focus of the article is about pressure, how it is generated, and the positive or negative outcome it can have on a person. The article also provides material on how to handle and deal with it. Mackie provides motivation to people who may be dealing with stress from entering college or finishing college, work related or any pressure one may encounter during life. I believe his purpose of writing this article is to inform people that stress as a factor of life that we must deal with, and depending on how we deal with it, it can cause great achievement or cause one to break down. He gave a clear understanding of how pressure is created by using an analogy, comparing it to a pipe. He illustrated how too much pressure can cause a pipe to crack, just as it can with in a person. I found it interesting that he compared ourselves needing to seek help if we become “cracked” due to too much pressure, as we could seek a plumber to fix a cracked pipe. There are definitely parts of this article that are persuasive such as the instructions he gives towards students stating “if you are flunking calculus, get a tutor.” He becomes very persuasive during the section on how to deal with stress, suggesting to eat healthier, exercise and to seek help when needed. I don’t think he deviates from writing to inform, because the article is solely just that, very informative.