Plus, an introduction to the classical appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. This is a quick introduction; later slideshows will go into detail. Look in each Module for a Powerpoint reviewing the They Say I Say Chapters!

1. Entering the Conversation
English 101/Professor Carter San Diego Mesa College

2.  Whenever we read or write, we’re involved with more than
ourselves. It’s a three-way!
Reader/Audience
Message/Purpose
Author/Speaker
Purpose: convince,
persuade, inform,
explore, decide,
consider…what?
Context,
occasion

3.  The ”templates” in They Say/I Say remind you of the
triangle
 Starting with what others are saying is the easiest way
in: it forces you to justify why YOU are here, if others got
there first—which they always do, when you are writing.

4.  Your ideas are ALWAYS in response to someone else’s—the
conversation started before you were born
 “We don’t make arguments without being provoked”

5.  You have three options, when piping in:
 Responding directly to someone else
 Offering something “new”
 Not making any sense at all
Even if you’re incoherent, it’s because no one can connect
what you’re saying to a previous reference. The reference
is still invoked, in other words.
In other words, even if you’re spouting nonsense you are
ALWAYS piping in. You might as well practice doing it
well.

6.  Pay attention to author’ explanations for templates.
 As they note, when you are really writing, you need to go past
“formulas” in order to
 question assumptions
 develop strong claims
 offer supporting reasons and evidence
 consider opposing arguments
 say why it matters
 Remember these goals: we will review them in the chapters to
follow

7.  the “they” can be:
 a published author
 your mom
 That dude at the bus stop who has an opinion about Donald
Trump
 someone who has opinions that a general audience at least
recognizes
 an implied “they” that the reader needs to do work to infer

8.  A) You can disagree (the most obvious way to respond) but
also,
 B) You can agree (template on p 8)
 C)and even better, and this turns out to be often the most
interesting and useful and supportable position, you can do
both (this is the “yes, but” position). templates on page 9.

9.  What is the authors’ response to that critique?
 Why isn’t it plagiarism?
 What is plagiarism?
 Review pages 10-13 for an explanation

10. Classical appeals
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
Kairos

11. Appeals that establish character and
credibility
FOR A SPECIFIC AUDIENCE:
credibility is not the same for all audiences:
one has to be able to correctly “call” an
audience, correctly establish what will be
credible (believable) for THAT audience, on
THAT occasion, for THAT purpose.

12.  One of the first things you need to do as a
writer is establish your ethos:
 establishing trustworthiness and credibility
with your particular audience
 This involves: respecting your particular
reader; conceding to objections, adopting the
appropriate tone for your audience
 claiming authority
 establishing credentials (experience with the
thing being discussed, etc.)
 coming clean about motives: admitting your
vested interest

13.  Pathos: appeal to emotion/producing affective
response
 Arguments that rely on emotion or are based
on emotion and feeling (feeling includes being
moved to pity, sorry, joy, but also anger, rage)
 [Humor counts as pathos]
 Even an apathetic response counts as pathos
(“I am unmoved” or “I couldn’t care less” or
“meh” still counts as an affective response)

14.  The most obvious way to think about appeals to
logos is that they are arguments based on logic,
reason, facts and data.
 But while we think logic is always going to help us.
that’s not always the case. The significance of facts
needs to be explained, with reason, for them to have
any meaning.

15.  The best time and place to make the argument:
“seizing” the opportunity
 Using “appropriate” language: but what does that
mean? Who is your audience? What do they want to
hear? What will turn them off? What will please
them, at the time? These are the questions you ask
when thinking about what opportunity to seize.

16. Review of Ethos Pathos and Logos (Thanks,
Texas A&M!)