The Rhetorical Triangle
LOGOS
CONTEXT
ETHOS
PATHOS
Ethos: appeal to ethics  SPEAKER
Logos: appeal to logic  MESSAGE
Establishes speaker’s credibility by
Offers proof/factual evidence and
appeals to reason by

Demonstrating knowledge

Establishing common ground

Demonstrating fairness
Ethical fallacies: ad hominem, guilt by
association

Pathos: appeal to emotions, values,
and beliefs  AUDIENCE
Reaches audience and evokes an
emotional response by

Providing examples and
precedents
Citing authority and testimony

Establishing causes and effects

Using figurative language

Using inductive and deductive
reasoning

Shapes appeals to specific
audience
Logical fallacies: begging the
question, post hoc fallacy, non
sequitur, either-or, hasty
generalization, oversimplification

Using description and concrete
language
Emotional fallacies: bandwagon,
flattery, in-crowd appeal, veiled
threats, false analogies, weasel
words
Rhetorical Appeals
Appeals are how a writer/speaker tries to convince the intended audience. The three main appeals are below: logos,
ethos, and pathos.
Ethos
These are ethical appeals based on the nature of the person making the appeal. Think about the following: Is this
source/speaker credible?
My Dear Fellow Clergymen:
While confined here in Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise
and untimely."...Since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I
want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable in terms.
I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues
against "outsiders coming in."...I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am
here because I have organizational ties here.
But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left
their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the
Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman
world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly
respond to the Macedonian call for aid.
- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Logos
Think about the following: Does the logic follow? Are the statistics skewed or unrepresentative?
Let us begin with a simple proposition: What democracy requires is public debate, not information. Of course it needs
information too, but the kind of information it needs can be generated only by vigorous popular debate. We do not
know what we need to know until we ask the right questions, and we can identify the right questions only by
subjecting our ideas about the world to the test of public controversy. Information, usually seen as the precondition of
debate, is better understood as its by product. When we get into arguments that focus and fully engage our attention,
we become avid seekers of relevant information. Otherwise, we take in information passively--if we take it in at all.
- Christopher Lasch, "The Lost Art of Political Argument”
There are two types of appeals to reason: deductive and inductive.
Deductive argument: This begins with a generalization and moves toward a specific conclusion.


All men are mortal. (Generalization)
Socrates was a man. (Specific case)

Socrates was a mortal. (Conclusion about the specific case)
Do you notice a similarity to creating a hypothesis in science and then proving it with conclusions?
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Inductive argument: This begins with pieces of specific evidence and draws a general conclusion from this.

Socrates was Greek. (Premise)

Most Greeks eat fish. (Premise)

Socrates ate fish. (Conclusion)
Can you tell me what is wrong with this conclusion? MOST Greeks is the clue here…MOST, but not ALL. Also, what if
Socrates was allergic to fish?
It may appear that inductive arguments are weaker than deductive because there must always remain a possibility of
their arriving at a false conclusion; however, this is not entirely true. With deductive arguments, conclusions are
contained, even if implicitly, in our premises. This means that we do not arrive at new information, we are simply
shown information which is obscured or was unrecognized previously. On the other hand, inductive arguments
provide us with new ideas which may expand our knowledge about the world. Deductive arguments are mostly used
with mathematics, and most other fields of research make extensive use of inductive arguments.
Pathos
These appeal to the emotion of the audience. Think of the following: Is the writer/speaker simply playing on my
emotions?
For me, commentary on war zones at home and abroad begins and ends with personal reflections. A few years ago,
while watching the news in Chicago, a local news story made a personal connection with me. The report concerned a
teenager who had been shot because he had angered a group of his male peers. This act of violence caused me to
recapture a memory from my own adolescence because of an instructive parallel in my own life with this boy who had
been shot. When I was a teenager some thirty-five years ago in the New York metropolitan area, I wrote a regular
column for my high school newspaper. One week, I wrote a column in which I made fun of the fraternities in my high
school. As a result, I elicited the anger of some of the most aggressive teenagers in my high school. A couple of nights
later, a car pulled up in front of my house, and the angry teenagers in the car dumped garbage on the lawn of my
house as an act of revenge and intimidation.
- James Garbarino, "Children in a Violent World: A Metaphysical Perspective"
Analyzing Rhetorical Appeals
When you read a text, begin asking yourself three basic questions. These will help you further identify the use of
rhetoric.

Who is the author of the text?

Who is the intended audience for this text?

What is the message/ purpose of this text?
Ethos/Speaker: When you read a text, try to discover as much about the author as you possibly can.

Who is the author?


What do you know about the author?
Is the author trustworthy? WHY?
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
What else has the author written on the particular subject?
TIP: When you write your own papers, you will need to convince your reader about your own trustworthiness and
credibility the same way that you need to satisfy your own curiosity about the author of a text your read.
Logos/Message: When reading, identify what a writer wants from you. Writers can have numerous purposes which
change from situation to situation and audience to audience.


Does the writer propose something?
Does the writer convey specific information?

Does the writer convince you (or wants to convince you) of something?

Does the write try to sell something?
TIP: When writing, address your audience for a specific purpose and develop the necessary strategies to get what you
want.
Pathos/Audience: There are many different types of audiences. When you read a text, it is important to know and
understand the intended audience. Identify the audience based on the following questions:


Who is the intended audience?
What is their interest in the subject?

What is their knowledge on the subject?

How do they feel about the subject?

How does the writer expect them to respond to the subject?
TIP: When you write a text, it is integral that you know your audience.
The Reader’s Rhetorical Triangle
When reading non-fiction writing, carefully consider the language chosen to establish these three appeals.
Ethos


Pay attention to how the author establishes a persona.
Pay attention to how the author establishes credibility.

Pay attention to any revelation of the author’s credentials or personal history.
Logos

Pay attention to the claims the author makes, the exigency (a difficult situation requiring urgent action).

Pay attention to the data the author provides in support of the claims.

Pay attention to the conclusion the author draws.
Pathos


Pay attention to the primary audience meant for the text.
Pay attention to the emotional appeals the author makes to that audience.

Pay attention to the author’s expectations of the audience.
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The Writer’s Rhetorical Triangle
Below are a few questions to ponder while you create your own argumentative paper. Remember, you should try to
use all three appeals in your paper.
Logos

Have I established the purpose for my text, and have I utilized the most effective genre?

Have I established a clear, reasonable, logical progression of my ideas?

Have I addressed opposing arguments or perspectives?
Ethos

Have I established the appropriate persona?

Have I established my credibility?

Have I expressed my knowledge and expertise of the topic?
Pathos

Have I considered the primary audience and the background they have?

Does my audience agree with me or will I have to persuade them of the validity of my argument? To respect
my opinion even though it differs?

How will I make my text appeal to my audience?
Verbal/Language Elements of the Rhetorical Triangle
Ethical Appeals (Ethos)
Language appropriate to audience
and subject
Restrained, sincere, fair-minded
presentation
Appropriate level of vocabulary
Logical Appeals (Logos)
Theoretical, abstract language
Emotional Appeals (Pathos)
Vivid, concrete language
Denotative meanings/reasons
Emotionally charged language
Literary and historical analogies
Connotative meanings
Standard English and correct
grammar
Restrained, sincere, fair minded
presentation
Definitions
Emotional examples
Factual data and statistics
Vivid descriptions
Quotations/paraphrases from
experts and authorities
Informed opinions
Narratives of emotional events
Figurative language
Emotional tone
Visual Elements of the Rhetorical Triangle
Ethical Appeals (Ethos)
Well-dressed, affluent-looking
person displayed in an advertisement
Logical Appeals (Logos)
Pie charts, graphs, and other visual
displays of “hard data”
Emotional Appeals (Pathos)
Bright, vibrant colors, especially
those used as conventional symbols,
that evoke emotional responses
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