E P L

Alrighty, let's talk about the triangle, the E, P, L, the appeals that make YOUR paper rock star and persuasive:

o   What is Ethos? Why is it important to the writer? What makes the writer credible? How?

§  Ethos is an ethical appeal, a moral appeal and an appeal that one makes to establish their authority as a writer.

§  It’s important to the writer because as the speaker of this argument you put a face to a position and you have to defend that. You cannot defend a position if you do not establish yourself as an authority with a moralistic appeal (and by moralistic I don’t mean religiously based, but one where a certain standard is established)

§  What makes a writer credible is their understanding of the situation (the history of if, a knowledge of the conversation going on), an authoritative tone (whether established by a decisive and powerful language, a use of humor to appeal to the audience, etc.

o   What is Pathos? How is an appeal to pathos an effective form of persuasion for an audience? What does it do specifically? How do you make an appeal to Pathos?

§  Pathos is an appeal to emotions, a tug on the heartstrings if you will.

§  It’s effective because it’s appealing directly to the audience, taking an argument and giving it a human aspect, a tangibility that the audience can feel and relate to.

§  It creates a bridge between the writer, the argument and the audience. It provides a method by which the audience can find a connection and relationship with the argument, thus forming a better persuasive understanding of it.

§  You can make an appeal through humor (one of the most effective), a sad appeal, a personal appeal, and so forth. You give a face to the argument essentially

o   Why is it important for your argument to have Logos? What might happen if Logos is lacking in your argument? What does that do to your credibility as the writer?

§  Logos ensures that your argument is one that IS arguable. It’s the foundation that holds your rhetoric and argument together.

§  If your argument doesn’t have a logical appeal, if there’s no sure foundation for the reality of your argument, then you lose credibility and persuasiveness.

§  Logos shows that he writer knows what they are talking and that what they are talking about is something significant. It shows that the writer can articulate a sound argument and one that can be analyzed and one that is significant.