Ethos, Pathos, Logos

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Ethos, Pathos, Logos

• How do you appeal to an audience?
• A. Lydigsen

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Ethos, Pathos, Logos

• Whenever you read an argument you must ask
  yourself, Is this persuasive? And if so, to
  whom?
• There are several ways to appeal to an audience.
• Ethos, Pathos, Logos
• These appeals are prevalent in almost all
  arguments

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Logos 1

• Appeal to Logic
• Theoretical or abstract language
• Literal and historical analogies
• Definitions
• Factual Data and Statistics
• Quotations
• Citations from experts and authorities
• Informed Opinions

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Ethos 2

• Appeal to Morals/Ethics
• Language appropriate to audience and subject
• Restrained, sincere, fair-minded presentation
• Appropriate level of vocabulary
• Correct grammar

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Pathos 3

• Appeal to Emotions
• Vivid and concrete language
• Emotionally loaded language
• Emotional examples
• Narratives of emotional events
• Emotional tone
• Figurative language

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Effects of Ethos, Pathos, Logos 4

• Logos evokes a cognitive, rationale response
• Ethos demonstrates the authors reliability,
  competence, and respect for the audiences ideas
  and values through appropriate use of support
• Pathos evokes an emotional response

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Definition Logos 5

• Logos
• This Greek word is the basis for the English word
  Logic
• Logos refers to any attempt to appeal to the
  intellect (academic arguments)
• There will be logical chains of reasoning
  supporting ALL claims

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Definition Ethos 6

• Ethos
• Related to the English word ethics and refers to
  the trustworthiness of the speaker/writer
• Effective persuasive strategy because when we
  believe that the speaker does not intend to do us
  harm, we are more willing to listen to what
  he/she has to say

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Example Ethos 6

• Example of Ethos
• When a trusted doctor gives you advice, you may
  not understand all of the medical reasoning
  behind the advice, but you nonetheless follow the
  directions because you believe that the doctor
  knows what he/she is talking about

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Definition Pathos 7

• Pathos
• Related to the words pathetic, sympathy, and
  empathy.
• Whenever you accept a claim based on how it makes
  you feel without fully analyzing the rationale
  behind the claim, you are acting on pathos.

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Definition Pathos 7

• Pathos Continued
• They may be any emotions love, fear, patriotism,
  guilt, hate, or joy
• A majority of arguments in the popular press are
  heavily dependent on pathetic appeals.
• Appeals to pathos touch a nerve and compel people
  to not only listen, but also take the next step
  and act in the world

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Activity 1 Quickwrite 8

• Think of something you tried to persuade a
  parent, boss, or a friend to do or believe. It
  could be to buy or pay for something, to left you
  go early from work, or to go somewhere, etc.
• What type of persuasion did you use?
• Write a short description of your efforts to
  persuade your audience and describe the type of
  persuasion that you used to convince your
  audience. Were you successful? If not, what could
  you have done to change the outcome?

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Video Clips 1-4 9-12

• Analyze each film clip and examine examples of
  ethos, pathos, and logos
• In each box decide which type of persuasion is
  being used and how (give the specific examples)
• Examine the effect of the persuasion.
• Be detailed and specific in your analysis
• Was the person effective?

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Activity 2 Group Skits

• In a group of four, you must write and perform a
  skit about trying to persuade someone about
  something you desire to do.
• Each skit should employ logical, emotional, and
  ethical persuasion