APPEALS TO
ETHOS, PATHOS, AND
LOGOS
Advanced Placement English
Language
Semester 1
Mr. Gallegos
Build Background-Rhetorical Appeals
• Please pick up a copy of the packet on the front table. We
are going to read the packet together from the textbook
Everything’s An Argument (Pages 98-104) and takes
notes on the following rhetorical appeals:
• Pathos
• Ethos
• Logos
• Please get out your spiral notebooks.
Key Vocabulary
• Pathos is an appeal to emotion.
An argument should never be
based solely on pathos. Figurative
language, personal anecdotes,
and vivid images are commonly
used.
Key Vocabulary
• Ethos is an appeal to character by
demonstrating that the speaker is
trustworthy and credible. Ethos
often stresses shared values
between the speaker and the
audience.
Key Vocabulary
• Logos is an appeal to logic or
reason by offering clear and
rational ideas to back up your
thesis, or claim. Facts and figures
are the main tools used to create
logos.
Learning Objectives
• Content Objective: Students will be
able to identify the use of ethos,
pathos, and logos from text and
analyze the effectiveness of the
persuasive techniques.
• Language Objective: Students will
read a speech delivered by Lou
Gehrig and complete the worksheet.
Who was Lou Gehrig?
Lou Gehrig was a
professional baseball player
who was diagnosed with a
neurological disorder called
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The disease is now known as
“Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” He
holds Major League
Baseball’s record for the
most career grand slams and
was referred to as “The Iron
Horse” for his durability.
Ethos
• Lou Gehrig establishes ethos simply by being a
good sport, a regular guy who shares the
audience’s love of baseball and family, and like
them, he has known good luck and bad breaks.
• Lou Gehrig knows his audience and who he is
speaking to, this making himself sound like one of
them.
• Ethos can be established by expertise and
knowledge, experience, training, sincerity, or a
combination of all of these.
Logos
• Lou Gehrig established ethos by stating that he is “the
luckiest man on the face of the earth.” The two points he
uses to rationalize his point is that he has played major
league baseball for seventeen years and enjoyed the
kindness and encouragement he has received from his
fans all these years.
• The two contrasting ideas that he talks about to help him
prove his point is that his bad break is not a cause for
discouragement because he has so much to live for.
• The underlying belief that links these two contrasting
ideas is that even though he has been dealt a bad break,
he is a very lucky man.
Pathos
• Words that carry a positive connotation are greatest,
wonderful, honored, grand, and blessing.
• He delivers his speech from a first-person point of view.
His careful choice of words resonates well with the crowd,
which makes his speech seem more passionate and
heartfelt.
• The visual “Tower of Strength” is an image, although not
original, one that the audience understands. This use of
imagery demonstrates how much Lou Gehrig really
understood his audience.
Tonight’s Homework
• Please pick up a copy of the worksheet titled “We
Can Afford to Give Parents a Break.” Tonight,
you are going to annotate (mark the text) the use of
ethos, pathos, and logos in the article. We will use
the annotations to write an analysis essay on how
the author uses rhetorical appeals in order to
achieve her purpose.
• Underline examples of logos.
• Circle examples of ethos.
• Place a star next to words or phrases that
create pathos.