Preparation for the Narrative of the Life of Frederick DouglassPERSUASIVE APPEALS AND IMPORTANT LITERARY DEVICES

Persuasive Appeals Persuasion, according to Aristotle and the many authorities that would echo him, is brought about through three kinds of proof (pistis) or persuasive appeal.

In other words, there are three main techniques used in persuasion writing:

Logos: the appeal to reason

Pathos: the appeal to emotion

Ethos: the persuasive appeal of one’s character

Logos Logos is the appeal to reason.

To use logos would be to cite facts and statistics, historical and literal analogies, and citing certain authorities on a subject. The word “logic” is derived from logos.

Example: "More than one hundred peer-reviewed studies have been conducted over the past decade, and none of them suggests that this is an effective treatment."

Ethos Ethos is the ethical appeal, means to convince an audience of the author’s credibility or character.

An author would use ethos to show to his audience that he is a credible source and is worth listening to. Ethos is the Greek word for “character.” The word “ethic” is derived from ethos.

Example: "My three decades of experience in public service, my tireless commitment to the people of this community, and my willingness to reach across the aisle and cooperate with the opposition, make me the ideal candidate for your mayor."

Pathos Pathos is the emotional appeal, the means to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions.

Authors use pathos to invoke sympathy from an audience; to make the audience feel what the author wants them to feel. A common use of pathos would be to draw pity from an audience. Another use of pathos would be to inspire anger from an audience; perhaps in order to prompt action. Pathos is the Greek word for both “suffering” and “experience.” The words empathy and pathetic are derived from pathos.

Example: "After years of this type of disrespect from your boss, countless hours wasted, birthdays, anniversaries, children’s recitals missed… it’s time that you took a stand!"

Important Literary Devices Imagery – using words that appeal to the senses to create a “picture” for the reader

Irony – the opposite of what is expected or intended. Verbal, situational, and dramatic

Repetition (Anaphora) – what is the effect of this?

Connotation and Denotation (see next slide)

Denotation and Connotation Denotation : refers to the literal meaning of a word, the "dictionary definition.“

Connotation: refers to the associations that are connected to a certain word or the emotional suggestions related to that word

Example discussion:

How does the denotation differ from the connotation of the word dark? What about the word snake? Or a daisy?