ELEMENTS OF ARGUMENT:

THREE APPEALS

Logos, Pathos, and Ethos

OBJECTIVES

• To acknowledge the literary terms associated

with arguments

• To identify literary terms within text

• To apply the literary terms to text

THREE ARGUMENT APPEALS

• Logos (Logic)

● The appeal to reason

• Pathos (Emotion)

● The appeal to emotion

• Ethos (Credibility)

● The appeal of one’s character

All persuasive appeals are really about

involving your audience.

Three Forms of Argument

■ _______: Appeal to _______. Pathetic or emotional appeals, persuades audiences by _________ the emotions stirred up.

PATHOS emotion

getting

WORKS OF AN EMOTIONAL

APPEAL (PATHOS)

EMOTIONAL APPEAL (PATHOS)

• Not surprisingly, emotional appeals target the

emotions of the reader to create some kind of

connection with the writer. Since humans are in

many ways emotional creatures, pathos can be a

very powerful strategy in argument. For this

same reason, however, emotional appeal is often

misused...sometimes to intentionally mislead

readers or to hide an argument that is weak in

logical appeal. A lot of visual appeal is emotional

in nature (think of advertisements, with their

powerful imagery, colors, fonts, and symbols).

EMOTIONAL APPEAL (PATHOS)

• When done well, emotional appeals...

● Reinforce logical arguments

● Use diction and imagery to create a bond with the

reader in a human way

● Appeal to idealism, beauty, humor, nostalgia, or pity

(or other emotions) in a balanced way

● Are presented in a fair manner

EMOTIONAL APPEAL (PATHOS)

• When used improperly, emotional appeals...

● Become a substitute for logic and reason (TV and

magazine advertising often relies heavily on

emotional rather than logical appeal)

● Uses stereotypes to pit one group of people against

another (propaganda and some political advertising

does this)

● Offers a simple, unthinking reaction to a complex

problem

● Takes advantage of emotions to manipulate (through

fear, hate, pity, prejudice,embarrassment, lust, or

other feelings) rather than convince credibly

Three Forms of Argument

■ _______: Appeal to ________. When the speaker is seen as trustworthy, knowledgeable, and ___________ in the audience, the audience will likely accept what the speaker says as true.

ETHOS character

interested

LEVERAGING YOUR CREDIBILITY (ETHOS)

• credibility is the audience’s

response to you as the source of

the message

• credibility has three sources: ● knowledge

● image

● relationships

QUESTIONS TO TEST CREDIBILITY

• Has the reader been able to rely on what you have said in the past? If they are unfamiliar with you…

• Do you know what you’re talking about? Are you familiar with all sides of the issue?

• Have you done your research on the issue?

• Have you documented your research thoroughly and accurately?

• Have your thoughtfully addressed the opposition?

ETHICAL APPEAL (ETHOS)

• Ethical appeal is used to establish the writer as

fair, open-minded, honest, and knowledgeable

about the subject matter. The writer creates a

sense of him or herself as trustworthy and

credible.

• When used correctly, the writer is seen as...

● Well-informed about the topic

● Confident in his or her position

● Sincere and honest

● Understanding of the reader's concerns and possible

objections

● Humane and considerate

ETHICAL APPEAL (ETHOS)

• When used incorrectly, the writer can be viewed

as...

● Unfair or dishonest

● Distorting or misrepresenting information (biased)

● Insulting or dismissive of other viewpoints

● Advocating intolerant ideas

Three Forms of Argument

■ _______: Appeal to ______. Logos refers to different systems of reasoning, working together to persuade an audience.

LOGOS reason

“I think; therefore, I am.”

EXAMPLE OF LOGICAL APPEAL (LOGOS)

• There is no room for the

clouds of emotion in this

straightforward formula;

it makes purely a logical

appeal.

Logic is the most important and the most effective of the persuasive appeals.

LOGICAL APPEAL (LOGOS)

• Logical appeal is the strategic use of logic, claims,

and evidence to convince an audience of a certain

point.

• When used correctly, logical appeal contains the

following elements...

● Strong, clear claims

● Reasonable qualifiers for claims

● Justifications that are valid

● Clear reasons for claims

● Strong evidence (facts, statistics, personal

experience, expert authority, interviews,observations,

anecdotes)

● Acknowledgement of the opposition

LOGICAL APPEAL (LOGOS)

• When used poorly, logical appeals may include...

● Over-generalized claims

● Reasons that are not fully explained or supported

● Logical fallacies

● Evidence misused or ignored

● No recognition of opposing views

SOME WAYS TO USE THE THREE

APPEALS

ETHOS LOGOS PATHOS

▪ Show that you are

fair- and open-minded

▪ Point to other

“experts” or an

authority other than

yourself

▪ Cite research

▪ Show why people

should listen to you

and believe you

▪ Rely primarily on

facts

▪ Use deductive or

inductive reasoning to

reach your conclusion

▪ Use classical

argument, including

reason and evidence

to support your claim

▪ Use emotionally

charged or highly

connotative words

▪ Appeal to peoples

fears, concerns,

passions, vanity,

sense of justice, and

so forth

▪ Take advantage of

rhythm and refrain in

language

WHICH ONE IS IT?

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