Rhetorical APPEALS:
"Rhetoric" is the art of effective persuasive speaking or writing. According to Aristotle, there are three strategies for making a good persuasive argument. He called these the three "rhetorical appeals":
Ethos
Credibility
Is the author/speaker credible? Is the speaker trustworthy, honest? Is the speaker ethical? Is the speaker professional? Is the speaker famous? Are there many positive reviews? |
Logos
Logic
Is the argument logical? Does the speaker use evidence? (Data, charts, specific examples... ...quotations, definitions, facts, etc.) Are the ideas reasonable? Are the ideas organized clearly? |
Pathos
Emotion
Does it make you feel something? (Joy, anger, sympathy, fear, desire, etc.) Does the speaker use humor? Does the speaker use personal stories? Does the speaker use vivid language? Are the ideas inspirational? |
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The subway Experiment:Joshua Bell is one of the best violinists in the world. People usually pay 100$ for a ticket to one of his concerts. One day, Joshua decided to do an experiment: he played violin in a subway station to see how people would react.
How do you think they reacted? Which rhetorical appeals were being used in Joshua's subway performance? Which rhetorical appeals were being used in Joshua's concert hall performance? Rhetorical appeals are used every time someone is trying to convince you of something. In daily life, we often see them being used in advertisements. To understand how an author/creator is trying to persuade you, you need to ask yourself the following questions: What is the author's purpose in writing/creating this? Who is the author's target audience? How is the author using rhetorical appeals? |
Activity:
Look at the following advertisements. Using the evidence that you see, what rhetorical appeals are being used in each one?