Persuasive Langua INTRODUCTION TO ETHOS. PATHOS & LOGOS SS NN| ARISTOTLE was a Greek philosopher who lived in the 4" century BCE. He was an influential y thinker and wrote on many subjects from logic and ethics, to biology and metaphysics One area, in which Aristotle was particularly interested, was rhetoric. Thatis, the art of persuasive speaking or writing. He even wrote a whole book entitled ‘On Rhetoric’ in which he explains his theories of persuasive language and speech. Most significantly, in this work | he expounds on the concepts of ethos, logos and pathos, as tools for persuasive EBA language. A lot can be learned about the art of persuasion from these three concepts, and oo once understood, they can be easily applied to our own persuasive speaking and writing ETHOS Fthos is a Greek word meaning ‘character In terms of persuasive language, itis an appeal to authority and credibility. £tho- ic a means of convincing an | 9% 4 doctor, | audience of the reliable character or credibility of the speakerfwriter, or the | CA" Say that credibility ofthe argument. this product Itis an important tool of persuasion because if you can get your audience } Wil certainly to see you (or your argument) as credible and trustworthy, it will be much easier | Improve your to persuade them. health THOS Pathos is @ Greek word meaning ‘suffering’ or ‘experience’, and it is used in percussive speech ac an appeal to the emotions of the audience, Pathosis the iF you got way of creating 2 persuasive argument by evoking an emotional responce in the buy this life audience/reader. ineuronce, you You can use pathos when trying to persuade, by appealing to an ore letting audience's hopes and dreams, playing on their fears or worries, or appealing to your Family their particular beliefs or ideals down, LOGOS Logos is a Greek word meaning ‘a word’ or ‘reason’. In hetorc, itis an appeal to logic and reason. It is used to persuade an audience by logical thought, fact and rationality its « Pact that smoking causes concer. Therefore, iF you don't wart cancer, you shoud'+ smoke. Logos can be @ useful tool of persuasion because if you can ‘prove’ an 6 argument through logical and sound reasoning, your audience is more likely to be persuaded Ifyou can include a combination of these three elements in your persuasive speaking and writing, you will appeal to your audience's emotions, sense of reasoning and belief in you, and therefore your writing will be more convincing. Try to subtly weave ethos, pathos and logos into your persuasive writing and speaking. © Stacey Loy 20appeal to ethics; itis a| 7/ow can you inconporale clos? EXAMPLES: means of | +Youcan openly remind your audience who you are | » Ihave been married for 58 years convincing | and why youare an authority on the subject. (‘As the | andl can tell you that he will not the audience | ©20ing researcher, | agree... be a good husband to you. Beira + You can establish authority more subtly through the | »» Having written ten successful snaiace use of jargon or specialized terms (‘My quantitative |” jovels myself, lean tell you that character OF | research in linguistic anthropology has shown...) this book is worth buyin credibility of vying. *You-can establish credibility by just using correct | 4, My friend, who has a PhD in the grammar and language, using solid reasoning and autrilonal science, tava that Wo < Cae 7” ood arguments end therefore sounding cede ealietenerocnaaes, ‘© If your audience believe you to be a qualified, authoritative figure, or an expert \ w hy use clhos? i" subject, they are more likely to be persuaded by your argument. TASK ONE: For each of the following, identify whether or not ETHOS is used, and explain your reasoning. Ethos? Explain “You should definitely get help with your The speaker is has referred fo their extensive experience in This debt, & | say that as somebody with over Yes ‘rea, in order to give credit to their opinion Somebody with over 30 30 years experience of debt counseling.” years experience would surely now what he or she is thing about “As your father, I ove you and only want 1 | the best foryou. Therefore when | ask you not to go, please Fsten to me.” “We really should try that recipe. Someone told me that it was good.” “The research — conducted by professors 3 | at Harvard University — suggests that you should lear a second language, Dentists all over the world ae telling 4 | their patients the same things, You must floss regulary.” ‘read somewhere that bicarbonate of 5 | sodas realy useful for cleaning. You should ty i.” TASK TWO: For each of the following scenarios, write your own persuasive sentences using ethos: 1. You are trying to persuade your mother to let you get a tattoo. 2. You are attempting to convince an audience that animal testing is morally wrong 3. You are trying to persuade your teacher not to give you homework. © Stacey Uoyd 2014How can you tnconporale patios? + You can use descriptive language and imagery which evokes emotions. (‘This life-saving dishwasher will enhance your life and lighten your load.) + You can identify values / emotions which relate » particularly to your audience, and play on them. ('/ know you care for your family, S0...’) + You can use personal stories to appeal to the > sympathies and emotions of your audience. (‘When | lost my job, I knew how important it was to...) » EXAMPLES: you don't go on this holiday you will regret it. You don’t want to live with regrets, do you? You love your dog; so buy this dog food, as it will help him to get all his nutrients. You have been poorly treated. You have been taken advantage of. Now is the time to take action. Pathos is an appeal to emotion; it is a means of convincing the audience by creating an emotional response. (Why use Jathos? *you audience emetionaly invested and engaged wih your - cause or argument, they are more likely to be persuaded. “TASK ON You don't want to be the laughing stock cof your school!” laughed ati fo moe pride ener /veader feel compeled to For each of the following, explain how pathos is used (you must identify the emotional appeal). Explain “Don't be the last person to get one. | Here The sp ‘of pnde by pontng out that “Ifyou don’t purchase this ife | insurance, and something happens to you, hor will your family survive?” “We have been mistreated, abused and 2_| oppressed. They have benefted from ‘our suffering and we must act now” “We lve in great democracy. So | donate now and support the troops sho are protecting our freedom.” “Just eat and don't complain, Children | in Africa are starving and would give anything to have that plate of food. “Caring for the environment may not 5 | change your le, but it will change the fives of your children.” TASK TWO: For each of the following scenarios, write your own persuasive sentences using pathos: 1. You are trying to persuade members of your class to volunteer to tutor underprivileged children. 2. You are attempting to convince a friend to join your sports team. 3. You are trying to persuade an audience that they should buy a particular brand of cereal. © Stacey Uoyd 2014Logos is an | Afow can you inconporale logos? EXAMPLES: appeal to. vou can use research and statistics to back- | » I've not eaten meat for 8 years, and I'm logic; itisa up your arguments. (‘87% of students benefit fit and healthy; you can’t argue that means of —_*tom textbooks, so...) vegetarianism is always unhealthy. convincing — + Youcan use logical processes to explain your | » We have conducted the experiment 57 the audience) point ‘this... then that... ('f you don't want times and we get the sama resulte every ouch gum disease, then you should brush regularly.”) single time rational *Youmust give convincing, solld evidence and | That is not my wallet. My wallet has a reasons to support your claims. ('/ need a car: it thought and | would make me more independent: save me ~~ reasoi money; improve my life.) tear in it. This wallet has no tear in it. Therefore, it cannot be mit cn If you can present a logical, rational argument to your audience, which engages \, Why, use logos? \\rintallect and sense of reason they are more likely to be persuaded. TASK ONE: For each of the following, explain whether or not you think that logos is being used effectively. few? Explain 7 an effed “{ need new jeans. Everyone in my a class has new jeans.” “All men and women wil die. You are a man, Therefore, you will die one day.” “Everyone has children, Therefore, 2 | everyone needs to think about the schooling of his or her children.” “You don't need to jump in front ofa train to know it's a bad idea; so why do you need to try drugs to know if they're damaging?” “Cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 4 | chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer, So why start smoking?” “Every moming the rooster crows, then 5 | the sun rises. Therefore the rooste: causes the sun to rise.” TASK TWO: For each of the following scenarios, write your own persuasive sentences using logos: 1. You are trying to persuade your brother to stop eating chocolate 2. You are attempting to convince your class that they shouldn't drink and drive. 3. You are trying to persuade an audience that they should exercise more often, © Stacey Uoyd 2014—RERSUASIVE LANGUAGF__________mtmm_mt_t_____. USING ETHOS, PATHOS & LOGOS For each ofthe following situations, write your own persuasive sentence(s) using ethos, pathos or logos. You may even use more than one technique per sentence, but you must use all of them at least once at some point in the exercise. You must also identify which one(s) you have tried to implement. The first one has been done for you as an example. Example, You are trying to sell a particular brand of toothpaste, called ‘ShinyWhite’, 3 out of 4 people surveyed said that they prefer cur brand to any other. IF you care about your teeth make the wise choice and buy ShinyWhite before its too late. Pathos and Logos 4. The principal has cancelled the prom. You are trying to persuade himiher to reconsider his/her decision. 2. You are attempting to convince your parents to buy you a pet rabbit. 3. You are tryng to persuade your aunt to set up a Facebook account. 4, Your sisters ona strict die, but you are trying to persuade her to try one of your freshly baked cookies. 5. Itisa rainy day: you are trying to persuade your fiend to go fora run with you. 6. Your mother wants you to go grocery shopping with her and you ate trying to persuade her that its nota good idea. 7. You teacher wants you to handwrite your essay but you want to type it; try fo persuade himlherto let you type it. 8, You ate trying to convince your classmates to each donate $5 toa charity which rescues abandoned animals, © Stacey VoyARE __PFERSUASIVE LANGUAGE (IDENTIFYING ETHOS, PATHOS & LOGOS For each of the following extracts from advertisements, identify how ethos n erlsing pathos or logos is being used Va True Make-Up: Because You Deserve The Best 2 MACARONNI CHEESE Just the way monn nackes it 3 Butterlys’ Knives: The Professional Choice 4 4 OUT OF 5 PEOPLE CHOOSE VITALISE FOR EFFECTIVE PAIN RELIEF 5 ite Dynamt security WE KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE 6 SHINEYWHITE MOUTHWASH Recommended by deatiste % you want value for money, then buy. KING'S ALLSOFT — TOILET PAPER