Persuasive Appeals

Persuasive Appeals

Three different ways to prove your point. . .

Logical Appeals (logos)- convincing reasons & logical evidence

• Facts

• Statistics

• Expert opinion

• Example

• Factual anecdote

Multiple Choice

Which is an example of Logos or Logical Appeal?

• "You will never be satisfied in life if you don’t seize this opportunity. Do you want to live the rest of your years thinking about what would have happened if you just jumped when you had the chance?"

• "If you're still unsure, please consider that my advanced degree and awards for my work speak for themselves."

• "98% of patients who take Medicine A reported no side effects and tested negative for the disease."

Emotional Appeals (pathos)- used to stir feelings in the reader (i.e., happiness or anger)

Emotional Appeals (pathos)- used to stir feelings in the reader

• Loaded words/language- 

    really positive or negative 

    sounding words

• Short anecdote that plays

    to audience’s emotions

• Appeal to senses by including vivid sensory details (taste, smell, hearing, touch, sight)

Multiple Choice

Which is an example of Pathos or Emotional Appeal?

• "You will never be satisfied in life if you don’t seize this opportunity. Do you want to live the rest of your years thinking about what would have happened if you just jumped when you had the chance?"

• "If you're still unsure, please consider that my advanced degree and awards for my work speak for themselves."

• "98% of patients who take Medicine A reported no side effects and tested negative for the disease."

Ethical Appeals (ethos)- based on character, credibility, and/or reliability of the author

• Makes the audience believe the author is reasonable (willing to listen, compromise)

• Demonstrates the author’s knowledge, credibility and/or expertise of the topic

• Demonstrates that the writer “knows” the readers and respects them

• Focuses more on the author, not the topic

Multiple Choice

Which is an example of Ethos or Ethical Appeal?

• "You will never be satisfied in life if you don’t seize this opportunity. Do you want to live the rest of your years thinking about what would have happened if you just jumped when you had the chance?"

• "If you're still unsure, please consider that my advanced degree and awards for my work speak for themselves."

• "98% of patients who take Medicine A reported no side effects and tested negative for the disease."

While all three appeals can be used and/or analyzed separately,

the strongest and most persuasive arguments use a mixture of all three appeals.  It is important that you consider who your audience is when you are using persuasive appeals.

Multiple Choice

The animal shelter desperately needs your support. It is overflowing with lonely little kittens who spend their days mewing and whimpering and staring forlornly out of their cramped crates.

• logos

• pathos

• ethos

• all three

Multiple Choice

I deserve the position because I have worked faithfully for the past 30 years. I always go above and beyond what is expected of me. I was even selected as “Employee of the Month.”

• logos

• pathos

• ethos

• all three

Multiple Choice

According to a study by CNN, 28% of teenagers report that they could manage without a TV.

• logos

• pathos

• ethos

• all three

Multiple Choice

We, the youth of America, waste 15,000 hours watching TV by the time we graduate from high school.

• logos

• pathos

• ethos

• all three