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Myranda Espino

Dr. Sharity Nelson

ENGL 1301-122

10th November 2022

The Rhetorical Analysis of the “Open-Ended Tasks Promote Creativity in Minecraft”

In one's early childhood, playing video games is a typical aspect of a person's life, yet

video games can often have a negative reputation. Minecraft is a widely popular video game with

millions of copies sold and active monthly players operating the game (Fan et al. 105), making it

available for people of all ages can play, and the ability to access the game through numerous

consoles makes the game accessible to anyone inclined to participate. Minecraft is a game that is

well-known for having infinite possibilities; according to Fan, "Minecraft is typically classified

as a "sandbox" game." The term "sandbox" refers to an environment where players have a great

deal of autonomy and flexibility to pursue their own objectives and partake in creative endeavors

in anything way they see fit (Fan et al. 105). The article "Open-Ended Tasks Promote Creativity

in Minecraft," written by Yue Fan, H. Chad Lane, and David Delialiolu, claims two main points

that participants in a task group with a clearly defined task will obtain a CAT score that is

significantly lower than the player who engages in the open-ended task given to them (Fan et al.

105). Fan also claims that with the given variable, such as the player's level of skillfulness and

experience, their attentiveness, and the material blocks used in the game, the player's interest

level significantly influences the CAT score (Fan et al. 105). Moreover, they successfully inform

the audience of the viability of their research; therefore, their usage of logos and ethos is vital in

appealing to every aspect of the audience's psyche.

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Fan prioritizes logos to further his argument of how the game is a great way to emphasize

creativity within children; for instance, Fan uses the "Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT)

(Amabile, 1982)" as well as surveys to promote and substantiate his claim. For example, Fan

compares how participants who took part in the open-ended task fared much better on the CAT

test than those who participated in the group that completed a task with clear parameters. In this

test, participants are given 15 minutes of free play during their second task, the result examined

in the CAT assessments, which measure their level of creative expression (Fan et al. 109). Fan

ran a survey to collect essential data to understand the participants' Minecraft-playing

characteristics: with this understanding; they discovered that men made up 74% of those

participants, while women made up 26% (Fan et al. 109). The primary inquiry they questioned

during this survey was gathering the skill level needed with this game; they discovered the level

of general video gaming ability and experience, the depth of specialized Minecraft

understanding, and the genuine interest and desire to play the game. Furthermore, the dexterity,

knowledge, and interest level had a strong relation, implying that participants who enjoyed the

game played it more consistently (Fan et al. 109). These assessments' results indicate that high

AUT and CAT scores are correlated with a high level of interest in Minecraft, which implies that

more creative people gravitate to the game by nature.

The primary function of Fan's utilization of ethos throughout the article is to substantiate

their use of Logos. They back up their original claim that whether the participants' interest,

skill/experience, and the quantity of various construction block varieties employed will influence

the participants' creativity scores with research and assessments. Fan utilizes both "The

Alternative Uses Test (AUT) (Guilford, 1967) and Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT)

(Amabile, 1982)" to objectively assess the participant's level of creativity, which reinforces the
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claim made in the article (Fan et al. 111). The AUT assessment endeavors to gather differing

thinking and has been shown to link with other methods of creativity. Meanwhile, the CAT

assessment examines creativity as it appears in a work of art or a project. This test is recognized

as one of the most accurate tests of creativity due to the high levels of reliability in terms of

nomological validity, discriminant validity, and reliability. According to consistency, validity,

and latent variables validity, the CAT assessment is one of the criteria for measuring creativity as

it manifests itself in a work of art or a product (Fan et al. 111). Fan's use of ethos throughout the

article substantiates their use of the assessments that are made from an outside source: Fan states

that "Multiple experts are needed to rate the creativity of a collection of products ... (Amabile,

1982)" (Fan et al. 111). Furthermore, after comparing both AUT and CAT assessments with one

another, Fan concluded that after comparing both CAT and AUT tests to figure out if other

variables, such as task situation, affected the player's creativity, they inferred that neither skill

nor experience level had a significant influence. Nevertheless, a participant's level of

attentiveness in Minecraft is linked to both AUT and CAT scores, which may suggest that more

imaginative people are enticed to playing Minecraft by inclination (Fan et al. 112). The

assessments led Fan to a conclusion that corroborates with his argument that the usage of open-

ended tasks in Minecraft fosters creativity. (Fan et al. 113).

In conclusion, in the article "Open-Ended Tasks Promote Creativity in Minecraft," Yue

Fan analysis the video game Minecraft, a widely popular video game. Fan argues that

participants engaged in open-ended tasks will obtain higher scores than participants given a

defined task (Fan et al. 105). Moreover, Fan claims that with the given variable, such as the

player's skill level and experience, their interest, and the material blocks used in the game, the

player's good level significantly influences the CAT score. Additionally, according to Fan, the
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player's skill level and experience, as well as their interest in the game and the material blocks

used, among other elements, have a significant impact on the CAT score (Fan et al. 105). Fan

concludes that "open-ended task supports the idea that open-ended tasks promote creativity in

Minecraft more so than well-defined tasks do" (Fan et al. 113). Furthermore, they persuade the

audience of their research's authenticity; as a result, their use of logos and ethos is essential in

touching all of the audience's senses.

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Works Cited

Fan, Yue, et al. “Open-Ended Tasks Promote Creativity in Minecraft.” Educational Technology

& Society, vol. 25, no. #, pp. 105-116. Academic Search Complete.