Modes of Persuasion
Persuasive Appeal
• To ask for aid, support, mercy, sympathy, or the like
• To make an earnest request
• Your appeal is HOW you are persuading your audience
• 3 Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Mode 1: Ethos
• Ethos- the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature,
or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution.
• Establishes 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.
• Ethical Appeals Include:
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Well-informed information about the topic
Confidence in the position
Sincerity and honesty
Understanding of the reader’s concerns and possible objections
Humane consideration
• Example: I understand that you feel all the players play to do
their best, but Michael performs at his best daily.
Ethos Continued
• Ethos, or the ethical appeal, means to convince an audience of
the author’s credibility or character.
• An author would use ethos to show to his audience that he is
a credible source and is worth listening to. Ethos is the Greek
word for “character.” The word “ethic” is derived from ethos.
• Ethos can be developed by choosing language that is
appropriate for the audience and topic (also means choosing
proper level of vocabulary), making yourself sound fair or
unbiased, introducing your expertise or pedigree, and by using
correct grammar and syntax.
Ethos Continued
• Ask yourself, as the reader…
• Does the writer seem trustworthy?
• Does the writer seem knowledgeable and reasonable?
• What comparisons does the writer make to other people,
places, or events within the text to establish authority?
Mode 2: Pathos
• Pathos-a quality that causes people to feel sympathy and
sadness
• Emotional appeals target the emotions of the reader to create
some kind of connection with the writer.
• Emotional Appeals Include:
• Reinforcement of logical arguments
• Diction and imagery to create a bond with the reader in a human
way (tell a story)
• Appeals to idealism, beauty, humor, nostalgia, or pity (or other
emotions) in a balanced way
• Example: Based on Michael’s background of growing up in
hardship, it is amazing that he is able to play this well.
Pathos Continued
• Pathos, or the emotional appeal, means to persuade an
audience by appealing to their emotions.
• Authors use pathos to invoke sympathy from an audience; to
make the audience feel what the author wants them to feel. A
common use of pathos would be to draw pity from an
audience.
• Another use of pathos would be to inspire anger from an
audience; perhaps in order to prompt action. Pathos is the
Greek word for both “suffering” and “experience.” The words
empathy and pathetic are derived from pathos.
• Pathos can be developed by using meaningful language,
emotional tone, emotion evoking examples, stories of
emotional events, and implied meanings.
Pathos Continued
• Ask yourself, as the reader…
• Does the writer appeal to your emotions—feelings of sadness,
pride, fear, being young, anger, patriotism, love, justice?
• How does the writer/text try to establish a relationship or
common ground with the reader?
• What circumstances can we as an audience relate to?
Mode 3: Logos
• Logos- the rational principle that governs and develops the
universe
• The strategic use of logic, claims, and evidence to convince the
audience of a certain point
• Logical Appeals Include:
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Strong, clear claims
Reasonable qualifiers for claims
Warrants that are valid
Clear reasons for claims
Strong evidence(facts, statistics, personal experience, expert
authority, interviews, observations, anecdotes)
• Example: Michael is the best basketball player because he
scores the most points in a game.
Logos Continued
• Logos, or the appeal to logic, means to convince an audience
by use of logic or reason.
• To use logos would be to cite facts and statistics, historical and
literal analogies, and citing certain authorities on a subject.
• Logos is the Greek word for “word,” however, the true
definition goes beyond that, and can be most closely
described as “the word or that by which the inward thought is
expressed, Latin oratio; and, the inward thought itself, Latin
ratio.” The word “logic” is derived from logos.
• Logos can be developed by using advanced, theoretical or
abstract language, citing facts (very important), using historical
and literal analogies, and by constructing logical arguments.
Logos Continued
• Ask yourself, as the reader…
• What claim is the author arguing? Is the claim relevant/valid
for today?
• Does the writer jump to conclusions or have logical fallacies?
• What points does he or she offer to support this idea?
The Rhetorical Triangle
• The triangle image represents the balance of all three appeals that
a writer should use for an effective argument. Each appeal is as
important as the others and too much of one is likely to produce an
argument that readers will either find unconvincing or that will
cause them to stop reading.
• Note how each of the areas potentially affects the others. An
illogical argument may move us emotionally, but only in the sense
that it makes us angry at the author for wasting our time.
• An overwhelming emotional argument may make us feel that the
author is relying exclusively on emotions rather than offering solid
reasoning. Finally, if an argument contains only facts and figures and
no emotional appeals, we may simply get bored.