Definition of Ethos and How to Use it 1. Trustworthiness
Does your audience believe you are a good person who can be trusted to tell the truth? 2. Similarity
Does the writer try to get the reader to identify with him or her? This can be done through language 3. Authority
Does the writer have formal or informal authority? Does the writer try to relate to the reader? 4. Reputation
What are the expertise the writer uses? How many does he use? What are their areas of authority? Logos: Logical reasoning, which has two bases: Deductive reasoning, and Inductive reasoning Deductive Reasoning Deductive reasoning generally start with one or more premises, and then comes to a conclusion from them. Premises can be facts, claims, evidence, or a previously proven conclusion. The key is that in a deductive argument, if the writer’s premises are true, then the conclusion must be true. 1. Education determines one’s class base. 2. One’s class base will shape one’s employment. 3. Therefore, education will determine one’s employment. Inductive Reasoning Inductive reasoning is similar in that it consists of premises, which lead to a conclusion. The difference is that the conclusion is not guaranteed to be true — we can only state it with some degree of confidence. For example, consider the following inductive argument: 5. All Six Minutes articles you have read in the past were insightful. (premise) 6. This is a Six Minutes article. (premise) Therefore, this article is insightful. (conclusion) How to Identify Logos Make it Understandable: Does the writer make the argument understandable? What tools does he or she use to do this? Make it Logical: Does the arguments make sense? Or does the writer require the reader to make an extreme leap of faith? How easy is it for the writer to make a connection to the argument? Make it Real: Does the writer make the argument real? Is the argument concrete or abstract? The language plain language: Does the writer use technical jargon or is a portion of language used for a specific reader that isn’t familiar with the reader? Does the writer use short words and phrases over long and convoluted counterparts? The language is explicit: Does the writer make his or her argument plain? What techniques does he or she use to establish explicit argument? The writer uses a couple premises, to establish his or her position? Are they relatable? Do they show relationship between them? “And these five advantages — capital costs, scheduling, inventory control, marketing, and employee satisfaction — together make this a winning proposal.” Trace sequences or processes in order. Does the writer jump around to different places or is there an order to his or her steps that create clarity or confusion for the reader? Use comparisons, analogies, and metaphors. Does the writer introduce new concepts, with an appropriate analogy which helps the audience understand the new concept in terms of how they already understand the old one?.

1. Definition of Ethos and How to Use it
1. Trustworthiness Does your audience believe you are a good
person who can be trusted to tell the truth?
2. Similarity Does the writer try to get the reader to identify
with him or her? This can be done through language
3. Authority Does the writer have formal or informal
authority? Does the writer try to relate to the reader?
4. Reputation What are the expertise the writer uses? How
many does he use? What are their areas of authority?
Logos: Logical reasoning, which has two bases:
Deductive reasoning, and
Inductive reasoning
Deductive Reasoning
Deductive reasoning generally start with one or more premises,
and then comes to a conclusion from them. Premises can be
facts, claims, evidence, or a previously proven conclusion. The
key is that in a deductive argument, if the writer’s premises are
true, then the conclusion must be true.
1. Education determines one’s class base.
2. One’s class base will shape one’s employment.
3. Therefore, education will determine one’s employment.
Inductive Reasoning
Inductive reasoning is similar in that it consists of premises,

2. which lead to a conclusion. The difference is that the conclusion
is not guaranteed to be true — we can only state it with some
degree of confidence.
For example, consider the following inductive argument:
5. All Six Minutes articles you have read in the past were
insightful. (premise)
6. This is a Six Minutes article. (premise)
Therefore, this article is insightful. (conclusion)
How to Identify Logos
Make it Understandable: Does the writer make the argument
understandable? What tools does he or she use to do this?
Make it Logical: Does the arguments make sense? Or does the
writer require the reader to make an extreme leap of faith? How
easy is it for the writer to make a connection to the argument?
Make it Real: Does the writer make the argument real? Is the
argument concrete or abstract?
The language plain language: Does the writer use technical
jargon or is a portion of language used for a specific reader that
isn’t familiar with the reader?
Does the writer use short words and phrases over long and
convoluted counterparts?
The language is explicit: Does the writer make his or her
argument plain? What techniques does he or she use to establish
explicit argument?
The writer uses a couple premises, to establish his or her
position? Are they relatable? Do they show relationship between
them? “And these five advantages — capital costs, scheduling,
inventory control, marketing, and employee satisfaction —
together make this a winning proposal.”
Trace sequences or processes in order.

3. Does the writer jump around to different places or is there an
order to his or her steps that create clarity or confusion for the
reader?
Use comparisons, analogies, and metaphors.
Does the writer introduce new concepts, with an appropriate
analogy which helps the audience understand the new concept in
terms of how they already understand the old one?
Does the writer use metaphors to compare one idea to another?
Does the writer get the reader to ask questions?
Questions engage your audience and make them active
participants in the conversation. Rather than passively waiting
for you to provide answers, they’ll be contributing to the
answers as you go. As a result, they will collectively feel
ownership when the writer moves toward conclusions. In the
best case, the readers will feel that they came to the conclusions
themselves — a sure way to guarantee the writer’s
persuasiveness.
#10: Address the opposing point of view, and refute it.
On the surface, it seems foolish to bring up the opposing
arguments. What if your audience didn’t think of that? Now
you’ve just planted a seed of doubt!
On the contrary, bringing up opposing arguments makes the
writer seem unbiased and boosts the writer’s ethos. This creates
trustworthiness.
Make it Real
Concrete and specific details improve the strength of the
writer’s arguments, and thus make the writer overall message
more persuasive.
Explaining the theory behind why your new solution will raise
profits is a good start; sharing a story about a company which
raised profits 17% by adopting your solution is much stronger.
“Personal stories and anecdotes carry more logos than stories or
anecdotes ‘which happened to a friend of mine.’”

4. Uses vivid details.
Does the writer use vivid detail to claims more validity?
Uses facts and statistics.
Does the writer use facts and statistics to support his or her
position?
Cite sources.
Does the writer use statistic may be accurate, but without citing
a source? By citing a source, the writer tip the scale towards
believability.
(The credibility of your source is also important, but that is
more closely related to ethos.)
Use real examples and case studies.
You can construct convincing arguments about theories and
ideas, but the reader will be left to wonder whether the theory
holds in reality. Real examples and case studies show that the
theory works in the real world.
What is Pathos?
The word pathos means “suffering” or “experience.”
1. Pathogen and pathology describe the source of a patient’s
disease or suffering.
2. Empathy is the ability to share the emotions of another
person.
3. Sympathy describes a similar ability to share emotions,
usually negative emotions such as pain or sadness.
4. Antipathy equates with strong, negative emotions toward
another.
5. Something that is pathetic is likely to arouse either
compassion or contempt.
All of these related words focus on the concept of shared
experience or shared emotions.
As a speaker, your goal is to create a shared emotional

5. experience with your audience. Pathos describes the writer’s
ability to evoke the reader’s emotions and strategically connect
these emotions with elements of your speech.
Pathos: Evoking Emotions In Your Audience
This leads to the obvious question — what emotions can the
writer evoke?
The simple answer is “all of them
Does the writer create a shared emotional experience with the
reader?
· Anger and Calmness
· Friendship and Enmity
· Fear and Confidence
· Shame and Shamelessness
· Kindness and Unkindness
· Pity and Indignation
· Envy and Emulation
Or
· Basic Emotions
· Joy — Sadness
· Trust — Disgust
· Fear — Anger
· Surprise — Anticipation
· Advanced Emotions
· Optimism — Disappointment
· Love — Remorse
· Submission — Contempt
· Awe — Aggressiveness
·
Pathos: Why Evoke Audience Emotions at All?
If evoking a particular emotion was the final result, it would
quite a useless endeavor. Randomly making the reader feel
anger or joy or fear or hope will not, in itself, get you
anywhere. Emotions do not persuade in solitude.
Aristotle knew that the emotion must be linked with arguments.
In other words, is the writer making the reader angry, and direct
that anger at his or her opponent? If your reader is angry at his

6. opponent, they will be more receptive to hear the ideas.
Just as having high ethos makes your audience more likely to be
persuaded, pathos can also make your audience more
susceptible to being persuaded. By making an emotional
connection with the reader:
· The reader will be more likely to understand the writer’s
perspective (via the shared emotion or experience).
· The reader will be more likely to accept the claims.
· The reader will be more likely to act on his or her call-to-
action.
Positive Emotions versus Negative Emotions
“If you utilize pathos well, your audience will feel the same
emotions that you do. Your audience will feel the pain, the joy,
the hope, and the fear of the characters in your stories. They
will no longer be passive listeners. They will be motivated to
act.”
The evoked emotion must be appropriate to the context. In
general, the writer wants the reader to feel the same emotions:
One convenient way to see this is by looking at the difference
between evoking “positive” emotions versus “negative”
emotions.
· Positive emotions (e.g. surprise, joy, awe) should be
associated with your claims, or your “side” of the persuasive
argument.
· Negative emotions (e.g. fear, contempt, disappointment)
should be associated with your opponent’s claims. Sometimes,
you may have a human opponent (e.g. a political debate). Other
times, your opponent may be the status quo which you are
seeking to change.
·
Why is Pathos Critical for Writer?
In summary:
· If the writer utilizes pathos well, the reader will feel the same
emotions as the writer does, feel the pain, the joy, the hope, and

7. the fear of the characters in the stories. They will no longer be
passive listeners. They will be motivated to act.
The purpose is to disrupt the status quo.
3rd Essay Prompt_ April 4th _Rhetorical EssayDue April 25th
The purpose is to determine how the writer establishing his/ her
argument with ethos, logos, and pathos to support his position.
To identify ethos, pathos, and logos in the reading, you must
first have your 3 quotations picked. Then, go through these
categories to determine which one the quote represents it. You
might find that the quotations reflection more than one device,
but you only need to identify one device per quotation. Then,
explain how the device is used in your analysis or explanation.
The essay must have MLA format
1st Paragraph-Introduction has two -three parts this time. (5-7
sentences)
1. A sentence that pulls the reader in based on the theme in the
essay. (optional)
2. Start with naming the writer and the title of the essay-the
essay has quotations around it. Don’t italicize the title for it is
not a book. Establish the writer’s argument.
(3-4 sentences)

8. 3. Thesis: What are the devices used to build the writer’s
argument? Why do the devices create credibility or doubt for
the reader? Write in 3rd person, not first person for this essay.
(The quotes you picked must demonstrate ethos, logos, or
pathos. Make sure you know how the quotations represent these
devices) (1-2 sentences)
2nd Paragraph:
1. Point: What is the device the writer uses to establish
credibility or doubt in the writer’s argument? (1-2 sentences)
2. Illustration A: You must summarize the quote, saying how
the writer establishes validity. (5 sentences)
3. Illustration B: You must have a quotation that is 4 lines.
4. Explanation A: How does the writer use either pathos, logos
to establish his/her idea? (2-3 sentences)
5. Explanation B: Why does the device work or doesn’t work in
establishing the writer’s argument? (2-3 sentences)
3rd Paragraph:

9. 6. What is the device the writer uses to establish credibility or
doubt in the writer’s argument? (1-2 sentences)
1.
2. Illustration A: You must summarize the quote, saying how
the writer establishes validity. (5 sentences)
3. Illustration B: You must have a quotation that is 4 lines.
4. Explanation A: How does the writer use either pathos, logos
to establish his/her idea? (2-3 sentences)
5. Explanation B: Why does the device work or doesn’t work in
establishing the writer’s argument? (2-3 sentences)
4th Paragraph:
1. Point: What is the device the writer uses to establish
credibility or doubt in the writer’s argument?
2. Illustration A: You must summarize the quote, saying how
the writer establishes validity.
3. Illustration B: You must be quotation that is 4 lines.
4. Explanation A: How does the writer use either pathos, logos
to establish his/her idea? (2-3 sentences)
5. Explanation B: Why does the device work or doesn’t work in
establishing the writer’s argument? (2-3 sentences)

10. 5th Paragraph:
1. Return to the Introduction
2. Return to your thesis.