Welcome to class! Happy 3rd six weeks!
 When you come in…
 Grab your composition notebook and take a seat.
 Today we are…
 Establishing a routine for daily independent reading that will continue
throughout the year.
 Taking our first basic notes on rhetoric, so that we can begin to analyze different
forms of persuasive arguments.
 Activities…
 Notes on the rhetorical triangle!
 Partner commercial analysis (if time)
 When you leave you should be able to…
 Identify ethos, pathos and logos in a persuasive advertisement (print or
commercial) and begin to discuss the purpose of each.
 Homework…
 If you did not bring a book today, or check out one from the library, you must
have one next class.
Rhetoric and Persuasion
General Notes section of your composition notebook!
What is rhetoric?
 Rhetoric uses rhetorical appeals to create a
persuasive argument.
 speeches, debates, persuasive essays, and articles all are
examples of rhetoric
 rhetoric is seen in conversations, advertisements, or any
other medium in which the creator is trying to persuade or
convince someone to do something or think in a specific
way
 This six weeks, we will be analyzing the way rhetoric
is used to persuade in media using an expository
approach.
The Rhetorical Triangle
 Aristotle taught that there were three types of rhetorical
appeals (or strategies)
 Ethos
 Pathos
Logos
(logic)
 Logos
Aristotle’s
Rhetorical
Triangle
Pathos
(emotion)
Ethos
(credibility)
Ethos
An appeal to the speaker’s credibility
 Convinces you that the speaker is
trustworthy, knowledgeable and dependable
 Ethos forces the viewer/reader to look at the
speaker and evaluate if we should trust
him/her, and the argument.
Example: The Surgeon General states that smoking
causes serious health problems. Therefore, anyone
smoking cigarettes should quit.
Ethos can be created by…
 Referring to experts or professionals, celebrities, or
popular individuals
 Including “the common citizen” testimonials or
witnesses
 Avoiding attacking others in argument
 Presenting an argument while being informed and
aware of all sides
How is ethos created
here?
Here?
Pathos
 An appeal to the emotions of the
audience
 Plays on your emotions to convince you to
believe something, or take a certain action
Example: Example: Please give me an extra day to this
essay. You should feel bad for me as last night my dog
got sick, my girlfriend broke up with me, and my cell
phone died, so I didn’t go to turnitin.com to submit my
work.
Pathos can be created in writing by
using…
 Imagery
 Diction- specific and strategic word choice
 Figurative Language
 Details
 Repetition
How is pathos
created here?
Logos
An appeal to logic that forces the
reader to think and consider the facts
 Statistics, Facts, Examples, Reasoning
Organization of explanations
 Example: Recycling is imperative. Over 60,000
pounds of recyclable material is put in dumps
daily, which consumes and damages the land and
air we need to survive.
How is logos created
here?
Let’s look at some commercials…
 Kids Smoking
 Siri Parody
 Sham Wow!!!
 Proactiv
Practice
Write a letter to the Round Rock ISD Superintendent on why lunch should be
extended or why ninth graders should be allowed to go off campus for lunch.
(3 paragraphs)
1st paragraph: logos (yellow)
2nd: pathos: (light blue)
3rd: ethos: (green)
Only the listed appeal may be used in the paragraph.
Step 1: Highlight where you used the appeals in each paragraph.
Step 2: Discuss why you chose the examples you did, and how they impacted
the persuasive appeal
-Submit to turnitin.com