English I – Unit 2: Literary Nonfiction
RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
VOCABULARY
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Ethos -
a mode of rhetoric appealing to authority or
reputation
Logos - a mode of rhetoric appealing to logic
Pathos- a mode of rhetoric appealing to sympathy
Alliteration - the repetition of consonant sounds in
text
Deductive - a kind of reasoning from the general to
the specific
Fallacy - a rhetorical error or falsehood
Inductive - a kind of reasoning from the specific to
the general
RHETORIC: THE ART OF PERSUASION…
OR USED-CAR SALESMANSHIP
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Rhetoric is nothing more than the art of persuading people to agree
with you.
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This can be through writing, speech making, or any other form of
communication.
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As anyone who has seen a presidential speech or watched a late-night
infomercial can agree, there are good and bad ways to go about this.
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Whether you're a student trying to persuade your parents to let you
stay out later, an essay writer arguing in favor of one interpretation of a
play, or a political leader trying to move a nation to action on behalf of
justice, the principles of rhetoric are the same.
ETHOS: BECAUSE I'M A DOCTOR
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Ethos is a means of persuasion that relies on the
audience members recognizing that the speaker or
writer knows what he or she is talking about.
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The president discussing gun control legislation, for
example, has more authority on the subject than some
random person on the street.
ETHOS
Ethos includes more than just authority, though;
it also includes your trust in a person good
character, in their intelligence, or even just your
sense that I am someone to whom you can
relate.
 Ethos is at work even when the speaker doesn't
have any particular authority.
 It's still their job to make you feel like they do,
and to make you buy what they're saying as a
result.
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ETHOS
I’m going to use ethos to persuade you to buy this
cough medicine!
Hello! I’m here in this commercial to try to
persuade you to buy a new cough medicine.
I’m actually an actor, not a doctor, but I sure
look like I have authority! You might even
recognize me from that old TV show,
Handsome Emergency Room Surgeons. Don’t
you feel like you can trust my opinion on
medicines for some reason? Look, I’m even
wearing a white coat! That’s authority if ever
I’ve seen it. Casting me in this commercial to
tell you about medicine instead of some actor
who was in a comedy about racecars, that’s
ethos.
NOW LOOK AT THIS EXCERPT FROM
A SPEECH BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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It is with reluctance that I rise to express a disapprobation of
any one article of the plan, for which we are so much obliged
to the honorable gentlemen who laid it before us.
From its first reading, I have borne a good will to it, and, in
general, wished it success.
In this particular of salaries to the executive branch, I
happen to differ; and as my opinion may appear new and
chimerical, it is only from a persuasion that it is right, and
from a sense of duty, that I hazard it.
--Benjamin Franklin, "Speech in the Constitutional
Convention on the Subject of Salaries," June 2, 1787
LOGOS: BECAUSE YOU'RE SMART
The means of persuasion known
as logos appeals to the listener's or reader's
sense of logic.
 This can include statistics, identifying causes
and correlations, or drawing analogies to other,
similar situations.
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TWO MAJOR FORMS OF LOGICAL REASONING WITHIN
LOGOS: INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE
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In inductive reasoning, the speaker presents a
specific example and then claims that what is
true in this specific case must be true in all
cases.
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In deductive reasoning, the opposite is true: the
speaker presents a general case and assumes
that the same must be true for a specific case
as well.
DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM?
Inductive reasoning is unreliable. Not all fruits can be assumed to be sweet just because
an orange is. Think about a lemon, for example!
Inductive reasoning is often used in speeches to make associations that are not really
there.
PATHOS: BECAUSE YOU'RE SENSITIVE
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Pathos is a means of persuasion appealing to the
emotions. This often takes the form of motivating the
listener to outrage about an injustice, to sympathy for a
cause, or to laughter.
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Pathos includes appealing to the listener's sense of
morality, particularly when it has been violated.
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For example, a speech arguing that a local factory has
been polluting the river may choose to focus on the
harmful effects of this pollution on innocent animals in
order to outrage listeners and win their sympathy.
PATHOS CAN ALSO BE ESTABLISHED IN SUBTLER WAYS,
THROUGH THE EFFECTIVE USE OF STYLISH, WELL-CONSIDERED
LANGUAGE, THROUGH THE USE OF DEVICES INCLUDING:
alliteration, which is the repetition of consonant
sounds in spoken or written text
 metaphor, which is the description of something in
terms of something else
 parallel structure, which is the repetition of the
same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence,
for example, a series of phrases all beginning with
"of“
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Pathos can be used effectively if it emphasizes
truth, or misused if its appeal to the emotions
distracts from the real truth of the matter.
GUIDED PRACTICE
INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE
1. Means of persuasion include _____. Select all that apply.
A. ethos
B. logos
C. pathos
D. topos
2. How could a speaker most effectively improve her speech's appeal to pathos?
A. She should tell a cute story about her children, but connected with her subject
when she delivers her speech.
B. She should review her educational degrees at the beginning of her speech.
C. She should produce statistics supporting her argument.
D. She should tell the audience that she grew up in their town.
3. Why would having a professional athlete express his love for a particular brand of
sports drink be an effective means of persuasion?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The athlete is perceived as an authority on sports-related matters.
The athlete makes the audience feel guilty that they do not exercise more.
The athlete's success in sports proves that he is intelligent.
The athlete makes people want to do the right thing.
4. Which statement is true?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Pathos appeals to an audience's sense of authority.
Pathos is based on logic.
Pathos is unethical to use as a means of persuasion.
Pathos includes emotional appeals
5. Which of the following would most harm a speech's appeal to ethos?
A. The speaker discusses how his opponent's plan for the city would decrease the
quality of life for innocent children.
B. The speaker argues that immigration should be increased since crime is decreasing.
C. The speaker has been paid by the company whose products he has publicly
endorsed.
D. The speaker puts on a tie before making a formal speech.
6. How could a speaker most effectively improve her speech's appeal to pathos?
A. She should tell a cute story about her children, but connected with her subject when
she delivers her speech.
B. She should review her educational degrees at the beginning of her speech.
C. She should produce statistics supporting her argument.
D She should tell the audience that she grew up in their town.
7. Complete the sentence. Ethos appeals to the audience's _____.
A.
B.
C.
D.
emotional involvement in the speech
respect for a speaker's authority and character
sense of right and wrong
ability to reason through the speech's claims
8. Why would having a professional athlete express his love for a particular brand of
sports drink be an effective means of persuasion?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The athlete is perceived as an authority on sports-related matters.
The athlete makes the audience feel guilty that they do not exercise more.
The athlete's success in sports proves that he is intelligent.
The athlete makes people want to do the right thing.
9. Which statement is true?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Pathos appeals to an audience's sense of authority.
Pathos is based on logic.
Pathos is unethical to use as a means of persuasion.
Pathos includes emotional appeals.
10. Match the fallacy type to the statement that illustrates it.
A. fallacy of logos
"The last time it rained, our local sports team won.
It is raining today, so they will win tonight."
B. fallacy of ethos
C. fallacy of pathos
"My favorite teacher said that we should vote for
Mr. Martinez, so I believe he is the best."
"If we don't pass this environmental protection bill
now, the world will probably end soon."
11. Which of the following statements is a fallacy of logos?
A. A person should be quiet in hospital hallways. This is a hospital hallway; I should be quiet.
B. An injured dog may whine. My dg Fluffy is whining; Fluffy may be injured.
c. This piece of furniture is a chair. This chair is soft; all chairs are soft.
D. Inductive reasoning begins with one example. Counter examples may exist; inductive
reasoning is unreliable.
L'Odyssée de Cartier
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaBNjTtCxd4
Write a Paragraph
In 150 words, write a paragraph in which you use a pathos-based argument to
explain you are buying an expensive watch for you mother or girlfriend from Cartier.
Use 2 pieces of evidence to support your position from the commercial (use your
notecards).
or …
Paragraph
In 150 words, write a paragraph in which you use a logos-based argument to
explain why you are buying an expensive watch for you mother or girlfriend from
Cartier. Use 2 pieces of evidence to support your position from the commercial
(use your notecards).
or….
Paragraph
In 150 words, write a paragraph in which you use a ethos-based argument to
explain why you are buying an expensive watch for you mother or girlfriend from
Cartier. Use 2 pieces of evidence to support your position from the commercial
(use your notecards).