INTRODUCTION TO RHETORIC Ethos Pathos and Logos LETS

INTRODUCTION TO RHETORIC Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

LET’S START AT THE VERY BEGINNING Rhetoric is: ▪ SITUATED COMMUNICATION (rhetorical situation) ▪ Communication in some context ▪ The art of speaking or writing effectively and persuasively in a particular context (context = a social space, i. e. , classroom, work environment, dinner gathering) ▪ Forms of communication that are shaped by a particular social situation

ARGUMENT VS PERSUASION Persuasion and argument are often used interchangeably- let’s clarify the difference! ▪ Persuasion is a broad term, which includes many tactics designed to move people to a position, a belief, or a course of action. ▪ Persuasion relies much less on facts (logos) and more on emotions (pathos). ▪ Argument is a specific kind of persuasion based on the principles of logic and reasoning (logos).

WHAT ELEMENTS INFLUENCE OUR COMMUNICATION? Rhetorical elements a writer uses to achieve his or her purpose: ▪ pattern of organization (narrative, cause/effect, definition, etc. ) ▪ rhetorical appeals (logos, pathos, ethos) ▪ types of evidence (facts, statistics, expert testimony, narratives, observational description, etc. ) ▪ diction (persuasive, connotative language, and biased language; specific and descriptive word choice; figurative language; active verbs, etc. ) ▪ syntax (sentence structure such as sentence length and variety; repetition)

PATHOS (EMOTIONAL APPEALS) Engage in their HEARTS and MINDS ▪ Appeal to beliefs/feelings of the audience. ▪ An appeal of pathos can move an audience to anger or tears as a means of persuasion. ▪ Many attempts to invoke particular emotions such as fear, envy, patriotism, lust, etc. ▪ an appeal of pathos may stem from shared values between the author and the audience, or from an argument that caters to an audience’s beliefs. Examples: • Tone: Does the author/ad create a sense of urgency, drama, sarcasm, humor, fear? What feelings does the author try to arouse in the reader? • Personal testimony - can be very impactful when hearing from an authority figure (Elie Wiesel- Night) • Anecdotes: often used with vivid imagery and/or personal testimony, anecdotes can be either an emotional or a logical strategy. • Statistics: can be used to shock or overwhelm as well as to provide factual information.

LOGOS (LOGICAL APPEALS) ▪ Appeal to logical reasoning ability of the audience through use of facts, case studies, statistics, experiments, logical reasoning, analogies, anecdotes, authority Examples: • Inductive reasoning: reasoning through specific examples/evidence to prove a general claim. The evidence given can be facts, statistics, expert opinion • Deductive reasoning: reasoning from truths or beliefs commonly held by the audience. (EX: Advertisements are misleading. The Verizon commercials are ads, so the Verizon commercial is misleading. • Using history or past experience to support a position or explain a concept • Addressing the opposition: Does the author anticipate objections and refute them? Acknowledge differing or opposing opinions?

ETHOS (CREDIBILITY/ETHICS) 1. Credibility: How does the author make himself/herself believable? Examples of credibility : ▪ Personal experience, research in the field, Titles (Phd. , President of the United States) ▪ Reliance on the expertise of others: expert testimony, experiments, studies 2. Values: Sharing beliefs, values, cultural background and/or interests with the audience to establish rapport. Ethical appeals may stress individual commitment or group relations as the key to ethical behavior. Examples of Values ▪ family values ▪ We must all work together to stop____ Often an ethical appeal can be mixed up with an emotional appeal because appealing to our values often creates an emotional reaction.

RHETORICAL TRIANGLE WHILE READING & ANALYZING ARGUMENTS, ADDRESS THESE 5 RHETORICAL ELEMENTS: Audience (Pathos) HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL/PURPOSE: Rhetorical Context (Why this is happening) An author MUST consider all the aspects of the rhetorical triangle If they do not do this, they may create a weak argument Writer/Speaker (Ethos) Purpose Message (Logos)

RHETORICAL DEVICES

ANECDOTE Definition: A short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. Example: ▪ Picture a mother and a father discussing whether or not to get a dog for the family. The father comments, ▪ “you know, when I was a kid, my dog was my best friend. My childhood was better because of him. ” *The short story that the dad tells is an example of an anecdote*

ALLUSION Definition: A reference to a well-known person, place, event, artwork, literary work, or musical piece Example: ▪ He’s the Michael Jordan of the Puma Basketball Team. ▪ Math class was his Achilles’ heel.

IMAGERY Definition: Language and descriptions that appeals to our five senses. Example: ▪ I could hear the popping and crackling as mom dropped the bacon into the frying pan, and soon the salty, greasy smell wafted toward me.

IRONY Definition: the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. Example: ▪ “Don't go overboard with the gratitude, ” he rejoined with heavy irony. ▪ “Rain on your wedding day” - Alanis Morissette ▪ Think sarcasm

METAPHOR Definition: figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied, or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated, but which share some common characteristics *Does NOT use like or as* Example: ▪ The classroom was a zoo. ▪ The cast on his broken leg was a plaster shackle.

PARALLELISM Definition: The use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their sound or meaning. Example: ▪ Like father, like son. (The use of like AND the fact they compare son to the father shows parallelism) ▪ “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind. ” ― Bernard M. Baruch

Personification Definition: Giving human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality/idea/behavior in human form. Example: ▪ The flowers danced in the gentle breeze - flowers do not actually dance ▪ The fire swallowed the entire forest - fire does not actually swallow ▪ Personification is used to create move vivid image of the act/idea/quality

REPETITION Definition: Repetition of the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer and more memorable Example: ▪ Let it snow, let it snow. ▪ "Oh, woeful, oh woeful, woeful day!