Pathos, Ethos, and Logos

Can we use appeals to emotion or logic as rhetorical strategies? For example, we could analyze how appealing to emotion impacts the audience which helps achieve the purpose. As appeals to a certain emotion, makes the audience feel a certain way, causing them to see the purpose/(its achieved). Or how using rational reasoning or even numerical data helps strengthen credibility causing the audience to be more convinced, hence the purpose is more achievable. Or is it better to identify certain phrases or even pronoun usage that causes these appeals as a result? Thank you!

Think of the appeals as the effect of the strategies that are being used. In that manner, you might try something like:
The author [strategy] in order to [purpose]. For example, he/she {device 1 + text evidence}. This builds the ____ because ___.
What is built would be the appeal.

To answer your question, yes and yes. :slight_smile:

You can absolutely use pathos/logos/ethos. However, do so with caution. Each year, many students use these but have very little or very weak accompanying analysis. A lot of students seemingly go in with Plan A being a paragraph on each appeal. Don’t do that. Instead, respond to the text - identify the most important writing choices overall and go from there.

In general, it is better to identify the specific phrases/pronoun used that cause these appeals. Don’t just stop at ethos/pathos/logos. Get specific with how the argument is overall being built.

Rhetorical Appeals (these are not devices)
● Ethos: an appeal to shared values, ethics, or respected authority
● Logos: an appeal based on facts and logic
● Pathos: an appeal based on emotion - creating an emotion in the audience in order to change their mind.

Rhetorical Devices
(If you want to make an appeal - these are the tools you use to make it)

  1. Anaphora: A type of parallelism, with the exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of
    successive lines, phrases, or sentences
  2. Antithesis: two opposites are placed close together to achieve a contrasting effect.
  3. Connotation: All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests rather than the literal
  4. Diction: a speaker’s choice of words
  5. Figurative Language: words or phrases not to be taken literally
  6. Imagery: description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
  7. Irony: the use of words to convey a meaning that is opposite of the literal meaning or a reversal of
  8. Parallel Structure: the repetition of the grammatical structure of similar words and phrases
  9. Juxtaposition: putting two things next to each other to make an argument
  10. Allusion: A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, work of art, song, etc. that
    exists outside the text.

Okay thank you!

Thank you!

Perfect thanks!

You’re very welcome! :slight_smile:

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