For More Effective
Technical Writing
Aristotle’s Concession
• Logos (the logical appeal)
• Pathos (the emotional appeal)
• Ethos (the ethical/credibility appeal)
Aristotle’s
Rhetorical Proofs
Pathos: The Emotional
Appeal
• Often frowned upon or ineffective in technical
communication
• Remember our Challenger Example from early
in the semester
• Prone to backfire if it’s laid on too thick
• Those abused animal videos
Pathos
• Careful word choice for emotional emphasis
• Is a business “struggling,” “failing,” “fell on hard times,” or
“has potential growth opportunities?”
• Is a business’ website a “disaster," a “missed opportunity,”
or proving “harmful,” “detrimental,” or “frustrating” to its
users?
• Just imagine the thousands of different ways you could
frame the benefits of a new course or a campus speaker.
Effective Pathos
• Strong analogies and metaphors
• Not having a class in Taylor Swift studies is more
heartbreaking than a million Taylor Swift songs.
• Have Dr. Mark Pepper give a guest lecture. He is like the
Taylor Swift of Technical Communication-- he’ll convince
you that you and your lazy writing habits are never ever
getting back together. Like. Ever.
Effective Pathos
• Use Humor (carefully and appropriately)
• A laughing audience is an entertained and engaged
audience
• Select Emotional Themes (especially when time
and space are limited)
• “Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking” vs “Learn to
Speak With More Precision”
Effective Pathos
• Appeal to audience vanity
• Don’t praise yourself for the idea; appeal to the
positive credit the audience will receive
• Appeal to legitimate/fair fears
• Of missing out
• Of letting the rival win
• Of appearing out of touch
Effective Pathos
Ethos: The Ethical or
Credibility Appeal
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Credentials
Experience
Openness/Demeanor
Document Design
Appearance/Voice
Appropriateness
Transparency/Citation
Ethos in General
Ethos is Often Unfair
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•
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Well-written, grammatically correct, lean prose
Proper level of respect
Thoroughness/foresight
Solutions that respect University/department
limitations and preferences
• Your own status as a student
Ethos in Current
Assignment
• There’s no one-size-fits-all way to make the specifics of
logos, pathos, or ethos decisions
• You must always connect these to your purpose, the
client/reader desires, and your client/reader profile
This is all Rhetorical
• The logical appeal: the evoking of logic and
reason; use of examples, statistics, data (in words
and visuals)
Logos
Logic is Formal
• All men are Mortal (Claim)
• Socrates was a Man (Warrant)
• Socrates was a Mortal (Thesis)
Logic essentially works off a “if this, then this” principle. You
have claims for every thesis you are trying to prove, and there is
a warrant that provides a logical connection between the two.
If the warrant isn’t solid or agreed upon, then the syllogism
(and your point) fall apart.
Syllogisms
• All men are Mortal (Claim)
• Socrates was a Man (Warrant)
• Socrates was a Mortal (Thesis)
Here the warrant is so obvious and implied that it could be
left out of an argument.
But in more complex arguments, the warrant is exactly
what needs to be elaborated on.
Syllogisms
• He just bought it at Best Buy (Claim)
• Best Buy only sells color TV’s. (Warrant)
• Joe’s TV is color (Thesis)
Here the warrant is so obvious and implied that it could be
left out of an argument.
But in more complex arguments, the warrant is exactly
what needs to be elaborated on.
Syllogisms
• It’s the murder of a life. (Claim)
• <Warrants?>
• Abortion should be illegal. (Thesis)
Syllogisms (or why most teachers
ban the abortion paper)
• It’s the murder of a life. (Claim)
• Murder is illegal
• the fetus is a life
• The fetus deserves the same rights as
anyone else (Warrants)
• Abortion should be illegal. (Thesis)
Syllogisms (or why most teachers
ban the abortion paper)
• Zombies can’t be reasoned with (Claim)
• (Warrants?)
• We must kill all the zombies. (Thesis)
Syllogisms
• Zombies can’t be reasoned with (Claim)
• Things that can’t be reasoned with must be killed
• Especially if they are not capable of developing reason
• Unreasonable things trying to kill us (an unreasonable
action), must be eliminated (Warrants)
• We must kill all the zombies. (Thesis)
The key with the warrant is that it’s what you need to prove
and write about. If you only give the claim, you haven’t proven
anything and your argument might not be logical.
Syllogisms
• FedEx’s service has dropped off since they’ve started
servicing large packages, something UPS has been doing
for longer (Claim)
• <Warrants?>
• Switching to UPS will give your business a more reliable
delivery system at a cheaper cost. (Thesis)
Without exploring the warrant, you’ve only given an
example of why. You haven’t proven logically why.
Syllogisms
• FedEx’s service has dropped off since they’ve started
servicing large packages, something UPS has been doing
for longer (Claim)
• Long term experience affects quality
• Overloaded or expanding businesses often struggle
• Switching to UPS will give your business a more reliable
delivery system at a cheaper cost. (Thesis)
Syllogisms
• His/her story will prove inspirational to UVU Students
(Claim)
• <Warrants?>
• We should bring X to campus. (Thesis)
Syllogisms
• His/her story will prove inspirational to UVU Students
(Claim)
• The story is inspirational because . . .
• This kind of inspiration is needed because . . .
• The inspiration is better accomplished in person because
• We should bring X to campus. (Thesis)
If you just summarize the story and just say it’s
inspirational, you haven’t yet logically proven anything.
Syllogisms
• A claim and an example/reason are often not persuasive
enough. Especially in tricky persuasive contexts
• The logical persuasion comes with explaining the deeper
connection between the claim and reason.
All this to say . . .
• Tell People What They’re Doing Right
• Nobody wants all criticism, and there will be few business
situations where a client is doing something entirely wrong
• Explain how factors beyond their control have
contributed to the problem (if true)
Other Tactics (in general
and for this assignment)
• Use Stats (but not too many) and Choose the “Right”
Ones
• 2.7 million people world-wide will develop AIDS this year.
• 1 in 20 college students will contract AIDS this year.
Other Tactics
• “Sometimes” Get Rid of “Hedge Words”
That Suggest a Lack of Confidence or
Assuredness
• May, Might, Perhaps, Probably, Likely,
Approximately, Likely, Suggest (Results
don’t “suggest,” they “show” or
“indicate”)
Other Tactics
• Varied Repetition
• Repetition subconsciously gets stuck in a reader’s mind
• But if it’s too obvious, they may resist
If you experience any of these symptoms,
please see your doctor.
It’s important to seek medical advice if you
become lightheaded or anxious.
Your doctor can help you manage any side
effects you experience.
Other Tactics
• Profile readers for values, attitudes, buzzwords
Other Tactics