Rhetorical Appeals How are people persuaded?

Aristotle Student of Plato Became a teacher of Alexander the Great Worked with philosophy, politics, ethics, logic, etc. Known for The Rhetoric = one of the most important works regarding persuasion

What is rhetoric? Noun = the art of speaking or writing effectively Also, the study of or application of the rules of composition Skill or effective use of speech

Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triad

Aristotle wondered, “How do people come to be persuaded to do things?” Logos = logic Ethos = ethics Pathos = emotions

Logos – Logical Appeal If you hope to be persuasive, you must also support your views with evidence (i.e. examples, statistics, and testimony used to prove or disprove something). To be effective, you must anticipate your audience’s reactions and conquer their doubts with evidence.

Ethos – Ethical Appeal This appeal focuses on the speaker’s reputation. The more favorably listeners view a speaker’s competence and character, the more likely they are to accept her/his ideas. Although credibility is partly a matter of reputation, you can enhance your credibility during the speech by establishing common ground with your listeners and by letting them know why you are qualified to speak on the topic.

Ethos continued When we talk about establishing ethos as a speaker, we are talking about what the speaker brings to the table to advance an argument = his/her reputation. – E.g., Ross Perot destroyed his ethos when he said to the NAACP, “you people”. NOTE: A speaker can attack the ethos of another person, however, this is NOT using ethos as an appeal.

How to identify Ethos – Ethical Appeal Who is delivering the message? What’s his/her background to suggest authority on the subject? What’s the relationship of this speaker to audience? In other words, what does this speaker bring to the argument by virtue of his/her background (education, values, history)? What is the effect of this reputation on the audience’s willingness to believe/act on the speaker’s words?

Pathos – Emotional Appeal You can persuade your listeners by appealing to their emotions – fear, anger, pity, pride, sorrow, and so forth. One way to generate emotional appeal is by using emotion-laden language. Develop vivid, richly textured examples that personalize your ideas and draw listeners into the speech emotionally.

Pathos continued Neither, however, will be effective unless you feel the emotion yourself and communicate it by speaking with sincerity and conviction.

How to examine a speech for rhetorical appeals Who is speaking? To whom is he/she speaking? Where is the speech taking place? Why? (i.e., what is the purpose of the speech? – to persuade the audience to do what?) What is the general message? How is the message delivered? (i.e., what appeal(s) is used?) How do you know? What words/phrases are used that identify the appeal?

Sentence patterns ______ uses the rhetorical appeals of ____ and _____ in his/her speech to ____ about _____. _____ uses _____ when he says ______ because ______. By saying ______, he/she is appealing to the audience’s sense of _____ because _____.

Homework Watch a commercial or find an advertisement in a magazine. In a typed MLA format paragraph, describe the ad/commercial, and address the following: Identify what Rhetorical Appeals are used. Describe how the Rhetorical Appeal are used to achieve the particular goal. Explain how the appeals are intended to be effective. Are they effective? Why/why not? – Highlight analysis words (shows/demonstrates/reveals/implies), – rhetorical appeals, literary devices, “to be” verbs (is/are/were/was), transition words

Practice – Write Persuasive Responses Too much homework – Some parents at your school have started a campaign to limit the homework that teachers can assign to students. Teachers at your school have argued that the homework is necessary. What is your position? Using 1 rhetorical appeal, write a paragraph stating your position and supporting it with 2 convincing arguments.

Curfew The mayor of your city is trying to decide if a 7pm curfew for children under the age of 16 is needed. What do you think? Write a persuasive paragraph to convince the mayor to enact or not to enact the curfew. Give at least 2 reasons to support your position.

Censorship Write a persuasive paragraph stating whether certain television programs that are considered to be unsuitable should be censored for children under 16 in your community. Give at least 2 reasons to support your position.