Writers of text use various strategies to appeal to their audiences. The three means by which writers persuade their audience are pathos, ethos, and logos.

These three appeals aren't "tricks" or forms of manipulation, but they sure can be constructed to trick or manipulate their readers. The better you become at recognizing which appeal writers use, the better reader you'll become. You'll notice that while the topic may be the national economy, an appeal to your emotions for children living in poverty seems to affect you more than straight numbers and statistics.

When should you appeal to emotions? When should you avoid an emotional appeal and stick to the statistics? What about morals and ethics? Before you answer these questions, take some time and review the definitions of pathos, ethos, and logos. Make sure you understand the differences and details before deciding on your approach for your argument, your discussion, your report, even your memo.

Pathos: appeal to emotions. A writer can use emotional appeals by addressing some of the following issues:

…        Sensory description of a scene

…        Honorific and pejorative words (often adjectives and adverbs, but also similes/metaphors and labels that characterize something as ìgoodî and ìbadî)

…        Examples or anecdotes

…        Objects of emotion (people, pets, ideas, symbols, etc. that have emotional connotations)

Dr. Jane Goodall is an internationally known ethologist. Her studies and work span over 35 years. Her writing is unusual for the sciences because she often uses pathos and ethos in her writing. Her writing is used as an example of what pathos, ethos, and logos might look like.

SENTENCE EXAMPLE (pathos):

"The chimpanzees fed for a couple of hours on the succulent mtobogolo figs, one of some fifteen varieties at Gombe. Then, one by one, they climbed to the ground. Some youngsters started to play, chasing and tickling, while the adults settled down to groom each other" (Goodall 77).

Dr. Goodall could have said, "After the chimpanzees ate the figs, some played while others groomed." Same idea, but not as visual or sensory. The image of young chimpanzees "chasing and tickling" is emotional.

Ethos: appeal of personality or character. A writer uses the persuasive value of her character. She creates the impression that she is a person of sound sense, high moral character, and benevolence/good will.

• Exhibit good sense:

o       the writer must have an adequate, if not professionally erudite, grasp of the subject being talked about

o       knows and observes the principles of valid reasoning

o       is capable of viewing a situation in the proper perspective

o       has read widely

o       has good taste and discriminating judgment

• High moral character:
  • display an abhorrence of unscrupulous tactics and specious reasoning
  • respect for the commonly acknowledged virtues
  • adamant integrity

• Good will
  • sincere interest in the welfare of the audience
  • readiness to sacrifice any self-aggrandizement that conflicts with the benefit of others

SENTENCE (ethos):

"So here we are, the human ape, half sinner, half saint, with two opposing tendencies inherited from our ancient past pulling us now toward violence, now toward compassion and love" (Goodall 143).

If her readers are in agreement, then her sentence is very powerful. If her readers do not believe humans are related to apes, then this sentence probably raises some eyebrows and hackles. Using an ethos rhetorical appeal is probably the "risky" appeal to work with. Moral character is subjective. Moral perspectives are too. If you choose to work with an ethos appeal, make sure you know your audience, and make sure you supply ample support. To say "Everyone knows that" will take you to a very difficult road. YOU know that. Your challenge is to support, to read widely (especially in opposing views) and to discuss your knowledge.

Logos: appeal to reason. A writer uses logical reasoning such as inductive and deductive reasoning, definition, evidence from other sources, expert testimony, etc. to appeal to the readers.

• Definition: defines or classifies the subject
• Deductive reasoning: can either be a syllogism or an enthymeme
  • Syllogism: consists of major premise (all humans are mortal beings), minor premise (Eminem is human), and a conclusion (Eminem is a mortal being)
  • Enthymeme: a syllogism in which one of the premises is suppressed or assumed. The enthymeme shows that tentative conclusions lead from probable premises (What usually happens or what people believe to be capable of happening). The truth of the premises might be hard to prove without a doubt, but we know that the conclusion follows from these premises.

Sometimes it's helpful to think of lawyers, or scientists. If you've watched lawyers on television or in movies, they mostly set up "the facts" first. So, the common line, "Where were you on the night of July 4th, 1982?" and the trembly defendant usually responds "My family was over for dinner, and..." and the lawyer cuts in "Where were you on the night of July 4th, 1982??" and the more nervous defendant says "My neighbor told me there was a strange noise, so I went outside..." and the mean lawyer cuts right in again. The point is, the defendant isn't saying where she was. At home? At the neighbor's? Logos is an appeal to what the audience would consider the "facts". No emotions, no ethics or morals please, just the facts. You were or you weren't. Observation is key for logos as well.

SENTENCE (logos):

"He was sitting on the red-earth mound of a termite nest, repeatedly pushing a grass stem into a hole. After a moment, he would withdraw it, carefully, and pick something off with his mouth. Occasionally he picked a new piece of grass and used that" (Goodall 66).

Can you see what the chimpanzee did? Do you have images that appeal to your emotions? Probably not unless you're very interested in termites. Are you questioning her morals? Probably not with these two sentences. The example gives the facts, mam', just the facts.

Goodall, Jane. A Reason For Hope: A Spiritual Journey. Soko Publications Ltd. and Phillip Berman, 1999.