Ethos, Pathos, and LogosThe Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetoric

What is rhetoric? We often associate rhetoric with

politicians; for example, “He uses empty rhetoric.”

However, we will be working with rhetoric as the study and practice of strategic communication:

“The strategic use of the various modes of language (spoken, written, body, visual, etc.) to create meaning and/or argument” (GFC, 2013, 747).

Other Definitions of Rhetoric

“Rhetoric is the use of words—either spoken or written—as well as visuals to achieve some goal” (Roen, Glau, & Maid,2012, p. 1).

“The faculty of observing, in a given case, the available means of persuasion.”

Aristotle

Rhetorical Appeals

Acts of persuasion can be classified into the following three rhetorical appeals:

Ethos: Appeal to credibility

Pathos: Appeal to emotions

Logos: Appeal to logic

Ethos

Ethos appeals to credibility using: Authority Reputation Values

Ethos represents the overall persona of the speaker/writer and his/her attempt to be authoritative.

The following Nike commercial employs ethos by fitting its message to the celebrity (a form of authority) who endorses it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmc8Slg1VIQ

Ethos

Pathos

Pathos appeals to the emotions, values, and beliefs of the audience.

In this clip from Mad Men, Dom Draper evokes a nostalgic emotion of longing through a combination of images and words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus

Pathos

Logos

Logos appeals to reasoning and numbers. It is also represented by well-organized argumentation and internal consistency.

This anti-tobacco PSA is based on a single powerful statistic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_56BQmY_e8

Logos

Rhetorical Appeals

Note that, although the rhetorical appeals have different focuses, they can work together, sometimes simultaneously, to create an effective message. For example, the creation of a logical, well-organized argument is most clearly an example of logos, but it can also promote the writer’s ethos by making him/her look well-informed and professional.

Rhetorical/Visual Analysis

The Rhetorical and Visual Analysis is worth 100 points, or 10% of your overall grade.

3-5 pages APA format Should following academic writing

conventions Examine the instructions and

rubric on Blackboard for more information.

Assignment Checklist

For the Rhetorical and Visual Analysis, you are supposed to do the following:

1. Choose a persuasive document with visual and textual characteristics to analyze.

2. Analyze its audience.

3. Analyze the writer/artist’s use of the rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos).

4. Examine whether or not the rhetorical appeals are effective for the intended audience.

Rhetorical/Visual Analysis

The document you are going to analyze needs to meet certain criteria:

1. The speaker/writer must be trying to persuade his/her audience.

2. You need to pick a text with a visual (that is, it needs to have both words and a visual such as pictures or a video).

3. The text and visual need to have enough substance to carry you through a 3-5 page analysis.

Rhetorical/Visual Analysis

You need to choose an object of analysis that has both written/spoken text and visuals. For example:

Lyrics and a professional/official music video

A political cartoon An opinion piece with a visual An advertisement or poster with a

substantial amount of text A commercial (analyze the visuals

separate from the spoken text)