Ethos, Pathos & Logos
Appeals
By PresenterMedia.com
Jot down what you remember about
ethos, pathos and logos
•Ethos
An appeal to character
Word
relates to ethics or ethical
If we believe that a speaker has “good sense, good moral
character and goodwill,” then we are more likely to believe
what he/she says
Speaker has appropriate expertise or authority
“Recommend by 9 out of 10 dentists”
•Create a chart on your paper
How to Appeal to Ethos
How to Appeal to Pathos
How to Appeal to Logos
Effect of Ethos
Effect of Pathos
Effect of Logos
How to Appeal to Ethos
How to Appeal to Pathos
How to Appeal to Logos
Effect of Pathos
Effect of Logos
•Language/vocabulary
appropriate to audience
and subject
•Restrained, sincere, fairminded
•Correct grammar
Effect of Ethos
•Demonstrates author’s
reliability, competence
and respect for the
audience’s ideas and
values through reliable
and appropriate use of
support and general
accuracy
JOT DOWN AS MANY EXAMPLES OF
ETHOS AS YOU CAN THINK OF
(COMMERCIALS, CAMPAIGN ADS/SLOGANS, SONGS, ETC.)
•Pathos
An appeal to emotions
Range
of emotions: love, fear, patriotism, guilt, joy, etc.
Can be manipulative
Ability to move people to action
How to Appeal to Ethos
How to Appeal to Pathos
•Language/vocabulary
appropriate to audience
and subject
•Restrained, sincere, fairminded
•Correct grammar
•Vivid, concrete language
•Emotionally loaded
•Connotative meanings
•Emotional examples
•Narrative of emotional
events
•Emotional tone
•Figurative Language
Effect of Ethos
Effect of Pathos
•Demonstrates author’s
reliability, competence
and respect for the
audience’s ideas and
values
•Evokes an emotional
response
•Often involves a call to
action
How to Appeal to Logos
Effect of Logos
WHAT EXAMPLES OF PATHOS CAN
YOU THINK OF?
•Logos
An appeal to logic
Latin
for Logic
Appeals to the intellect, reasoning
Academic arguments
•
All men are mortal.
•
Socrates is a man.
•
Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
JOT DOWN AS MANY EXAMPLES OF
LOGOS AS YOU CAN THINK OF
How to Appeal to Ethos
How to Appeal to Pathos
How to Appeal to Logos
•Language/vocabulary
appropriate to audience
and subject
•Restrained, sincere, fairminded
•Correct grammar
•Vivid, concrete language
•Emotionally loaded
•Connotative meanings
•Emotional examples
•Narrative of emotional
events
•Emotional tone
•Figurative Language
•Theoretical, abstract
language
•Denotative meanings
•Definitions
•Factual data and
statistics
•Quotations
•Citations from experts
and authorities
•Informed opinions
Effect of Ethos
Effect of Pathos
Effect of Logos
•Demonstrates author’s
reliability, competence
and respect for the
audience’s ideas and
values
•Evokes an emotional
response
•Often involves a call to
action
•Evokes a cognitive,
rational response
Now, go back to the question you wrote
at the beginning…
•
Can you answer your question? If so, write down the answer.
•
If not, query the members of your table. Can they answer it?
•
If they can’t, be prepared to ask the whole class in T minus…
•Now, see if you can identify each:
•
With your group, read each of the three excerpts. Decide which
appeal the author uses. Underline/highlight three specific
examples where the author employs that appeal. Be ready to
discuss and defend.
•
When you have read and labeled all three samples, decide
which appeal is the strongest. Write a quick paragraph
explaining why it is the most powerful appeal. What other
techniques does the author use that make it powerful?
Let’s see if you can identify appeals in a
film clip…
Draw a T chart
Larry the Liquidator
CEO
As you watch the clips, jot down instances of ethos,
pathos and logos in the T chart
•Now, how about in a larger context?
With a partner, find 3 advertisements, one to highlight ethos,
pathos and logos and create a one-pager:
1. Glue/tape the picture to your paper and label which of the
three appeals it uses
2. Write 2-3 sentences each explaining the appeal—be
specific! Draw arrows to label captions, pictures, descriptors,
etc. Be specific and take into account colors used, setting,
age, race etc. of people in ad, etc.
3. In the end, determine which is the most successful
appeal of the three. Support your rationale and write it out
on your paper.
•
E
t
h
o
s
This guy looks hip and
cool. He looks like a
normal guy. I might
learn something from
him.
This guy knows how
to do this—I better
listen to him; he
must be an expert
Do you want to work smarter, not
harder? Learn how with Get-It-Done Guy's
9 Steps to Work Less and Do More. The
book is available from Amazon, Barnes
and Noble, Borders, Powell's, iBooks, and
at bookstores everywhere.
The ad appeals to ethos, attempting
to have people buy into the idea
that one man has figured out what
we all want. He is presented as an
authority who has the solution.
These are all
reputable stores.
This book must be
helpful and many
people must be
using it if they all
carry the book