1. Appeals to Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
Advanced Placement English Language
Semester 1
Mr. Gallegos

2. Build Background-Rhetorical Appeals
Please pick up a copy of the packet on the front table. We are going to read the packet together from the textbook Everything’s An Argument (Pages ) and takes notes on the following rhetorical appeals:
Pathos
Ethos
Logos
Please get out your spiral notebooks.

3. Key Vocabulary
Pathos is an appeal to emotion. An argument should never be based solely on pathos. Figurative language, personal anecdotes, and vivid images are commonly used.

4. Key Vocabulary
Ethos is an appeal to character by demonstrating that the speaker is trustworthy and credible. Ethos often stresses shared values between the speaker and the audience.

5. Key Vocabulary
Logos is an appeal to logic or reason by offering clear and rational ideas to back up your thesis, or claim. Facts and figures are the main tools used to create logos.

6. Learning Objectives
Content Objective: Students will be able to identify the use of ethos, pathos, and logos from text and analyze the effectiveness of the persuasive techniques.
Language Objective: Students will read a speech delivered by Lou Gehrig and complete the worksheet.

7. Who was Lou Gehrig?
Lou Gehrig was a professional baseball player who was diagnosed with a neurological disorder called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The disease is now known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” He holds Major League Baseball’s record for the most career grand slams and was referred to as “The Iron Horse” for his durability.

8. Ethos
Lou Gehrig establishes ethos simply by being a good sport, a regular guy who shares the audience’s love of baseball and family, and like them, he has known good luck and bad breaks.
Lou Gehrig knows his audience and who he is speaking to, this making himself sound like one of them.
Ethos can be established by expertise and knowledge, experience, training, sincerity, or a combination of all of these.

9. Logos
Lou Gehrig established ethos by stating that he is “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” The two points he uses to rationalize his point is that he has played major league baseball for seventeen years and enjoyed the kindness and encouragement he has received from his fans all these years.
The two contrasting ideas that he talks about to help him prove his point is that his bad break is not a cause for discouragement because he has so much to live for.
The underlying belief that links these two contrasting ideas is that even though he has been dealt a bad break, he is a very lucky man.

10. Pathos
Words that carry a positive connotation are greatest, wonderful, honored, grand, and blessing.
He delivers his speech from a first-person point of view. His careful choice of words resonates well with the crowd, which makes his speech seem more passionate and heartfelt.
The visual “Tower of Strength” is an image, although not original, one that the audience understands. This use of imagery demonstrates how much Lou Gehrig really understood his audience.

11. Tonight’s Homework
Please pick up a copy of the worksheet titled “We Can Afford to Give Parents a Break.” Tonight, you are going to annotate (mark the text) the use of ethos, pathos, and logos in the article. We will use the annotations to write an analysis essay on how the author uses rhetorical appeals in order to achieve her purpose.
Underline examples of logos.
Circle examples of ethos.
Place a star next to words or phrases that create pathos.