Ethos, Pathos, Logos v3
Ethos, Pathos, Logos v3
Ethos, Pathos, Logos v3
This appeal involves convincing your audience that you are intelligent and can
be trusted. Writers cannot simply say to their audience "I can be trusted because
I'm smart and a good person." This appeal is perhaps the most difficult to
establish; you have to prove yourself by demonstrating that you understand
what you are arguing because:
You appeal to logic when you rely on your audience’s intelligence and when
you offer credible evidence to support your argument. That evidence includes:
• FACTS- These are valuable because they are not debatable; they represent
the truth
• EXAMPLES- These include events or circumstances that your audience
can relate to their life
• PRECEDENTS- These are specific examples (historical and personal) from
the past
• AUTHORITY- The authority must be timely (not out-dated), and it must
be qualified to judge the topic
This kind of appeal can be very effective if it’s not over-done, especially if
your topic is an emotional one. Because your audience has emotions as
well as intellect, your argument must seek to engage the audience
emotionally. However, using emotional appeal alone is not as effective as
when it is used in conjunction with logical and/or ethical appeals.
The BEST way to incorporate pathos (or emotional) appeals is by using words
that carry appropriate connotations.
An Argument is NOT...
• a quarrel involving name-calling and fallacious statements instead of
concrete, well-thought out arguments,
• an opinionated dispute of ideas without any real evidence backing the
opinions,
• factual information that is not debatable,
• a rant that completely disregards the audience, and
• ideas that are unfounded by logic or empirical truth.
Which of the above types of information is appropriate for your audience and purpose? This
is where your research comes in. How will you show you know what you are talking about?
What facts will you use, to suggest what?
Writers
who
construct
good
arguments
remember
to...
• consciously
decide
the
rhetorical
situation
or
writing
occasion.
This
means
that
writers:
– look
at
the
social
or
cultural
context
for
the
issue,
– consider
where
this
written
argument
might
appear
or
be
published,
– look
at
the
audience
and
asks
what
they
already
know
and
believe,
– consider
the
audience's
viewpoint,
and
– consider
the
audience's
neutral
viewpoint
and
wonder
if
they
are
likely
to
listen
to
both
sides
before
deciding
what
to
believe.
• Focus
on
a
debatable
position
or
claim,
and
• support
each
claim
with
sufficient
evidence.