Introduction:
There is a theory that no new way of persuading has been thought of in the last 2,500 years; that is how long ago the Greeks were writing about persuasion. They claimed that all strategies could be classified as one of three appeals or methods of persuasion:
- LOGOS refers to LOGIC.
- ETHOS, which has the same root as “ethical,” refers to how much we trust the sender of a message or if he/she is an ethical person, but the word that comes closest to it is CREDIBILITY.
- PATHOS is the root of empathy, sympathy, and pity, and it refers to EMOTION.
Please note that, while logos, ethos, and pathos are not capitalized (since they are not proper nouns)., they should be italicized (select, Ctrl+i) because they are non-English words (they’re Greek).
You may notice that I always try to write them in this order: logos, ethos, and pathos. That is because students often do best when they consider the rhetorical approaches in that order: First, logos, then ethos, and then, pathos.
Consider the facts first, then discuss whether those facts have credibility, and then analyze whether both of those offer any emotional impact to readers.
Why? Once you have all the facts on the table, then you can consider their impact. Otherwise, essays can get needlessly repetitive.
Good writing is concise writing. Introduce and discuss a point you’d like to make, prove it true with specific details, and move on.
In a rhetorical analysis, you’ll need to dig into the details and actually analyze the specific elements and points. Plus, you’ll need to analyze how readers might be influenced by those appeals. That’s the goal here. There should be no need to refer to yourself in the essay. In formal writing, try to use an objective, third-person tone.
Instructions:
1. Read the following discussion of logos, ethos, and pathos, including its discussion of the misuse of rhetorical appeals: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/engcomp1-wmopen/chapter/text-evaluating-appeals-to-ethos-logos-and-pathos/.
2. Then summarize the main points of the unit’s readings in about 200-300 words.
