Strategies to Look for in Persuasion

Ethos (authority)Pathos (emotions or values)Logos (statistics, facts, proof)

Cause and Effect (if this occurs…then this will happen)

Analogy (a comparison to illustrate your point more clearly)

Questions to Help You Recognize Logos

Logos: Is the thesis clear and specific? (for help with thesis statements, see the Revising Thesis Statements handout) Is the thesis supported by strong reasons and credible evidence? Is the argument logical and arranged in a well-reasoned order?

Questions to Help You Recognize Ethos

Ethos:What are the writer’s qualifications? How has the writer connected him/herself to the topic being discussed?Does the writer demonstrate respect for multiple viewpoints by using sources in the text?Are sources credible? Are sources documented appropriately?Does the writer use a tone that is suitable for the audience/purpose? Is the diction (word choice) used appropriate for the audience/purpose?Is the document presented in a polished and professional manner?

Questions to Help you Recognize Pathos

Pathos: Are vivid examples, details and images used to engage the reader’s emotions and imagination? Does the writer appeal to the values and beliefs of the reader by using examples readers canrelate to or care about?

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Can Also Be Found In Advertising!

Imagine the following advertisements and lets decide as a class whether they would be an example of Ethos, Pathos, or Logos

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

A child is shown covered in bug bites after using an inferior bug spray.

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

"I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed."

I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr. August 28th, 1963

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

Tiger Woods endorses Nike.

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

Sprite Zero is 100% sugar-free.

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

A 32-oz. bottle of Tide holds enough to wash 32 loads.

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

A commercial shows an image of a happy couple riding in a Corvette.

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

Cardiologists recommend Ecotrin more than any other brand of aspirin.

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

Advil Liqui-Gels provide up to 8 hours of continuous pain relief.

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

A magazine ad shows people smiling while smoking cigarettes.

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

Our spokesperson, Mr. Coyote says "I'm not really a coyote, but I play one on tv. I've used Acme products for years. Their slingshots, rocket launchers, crowbars, pogo sticks, and power pills are the best around. And don't forget their high-powered dynamite! I buy everything from Acme. They are the company that I trust the most."

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

ACME is currently working towards a patent on our process. Our scientists are exploring ways to use the process in cars, houses, airplanes, and almost anything else that needs power. ACME batteries will be refitted with small dihydro-cesium reactors. Once the entire world is powered by ACME's generators, we can all relax and enjoy a much easier life.

typical example of energy released from the dihydro-cesium process.

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

A baby turtle breaks free from the leathery shell of its egg, catching its first glimpse of its first sunrise. It pauses a moment to rest, unaware of the danger that lies so close to it. As the tide comes in, approaching the nest, it also approaches a small pile of metal - cesium. The water draws closer and closer, the turtle unsuspecting of the danger. Finally, the water touches the cesium. The nest is torn to bits in the resulting

explosion, destroying even more of an endangered species. Why does this happen? One name: Acme.

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

Let us begin with a simple proposition:  What democracy requires is public debate, not information.  Of course it needs information too, but the kind of information it needs can be generated only by vigorous popular debate.  We do not know what we need to know until we ask the right questions, and we can identify the right questions only by subjecting our ideas about the world to the test of public controversy.  Information, usually seen as the precondition of debate, is better understood as its by product.  When we get into arguments that focus and fully engage our attention, we become avid seekers of relevant information.  Otherwise, we take in information passively--if we take it in at all.

ETHOS, PATHOS, LOGOS??

Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. ~ Mark Twain

Ethos, Pathos, or Logos?

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you.

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation...