PATHOS Pathos is appeal based on emotion. Advertisements tend to be pathos-driven. Many political decisions have an emotional motivation. For example, when a gunman with an assault rifle shot up a schoolyard full of children, people were suddenly interested in banning such weapons. The logical arguments for banning or not banning assault rifles had not changed at all, but people were emotionally engaged with the issue after this event and wanted to do something. Many advertisements for consumer goods aim at making us insecure about our attractiveness or social acceptability, and then offer a remedy for this feeling in the form of a product. This is a common strategy for selling all sorts of products.

ETHOS Ethos is appeal based on the character/credibilty of the speaker. An ethos-driven document relies on the reputation of the author. Aristotle says that if we believe that a speaker has "good sense, good moral character, and goodwill," we are inclined to believe what that speaker says to us. Today we might add that a speaker should also appear to have the appropriate expertise or authority to speak knowledgeably about the subject matter. For example, when an actor in a pain reliever commercial puts on a doctor's white coat, the advertisers are hoping that wearing this coat will give the actor the authority to talk persuasively about medicines. Can you think of some examples?

LOGOS Logos is appeal based on logic or reason. Documents distributed by companies or corporations are logos-driven. Scholarly documents are also often logos-driven. In our society, logic and rationality are highly valued and this type of persuasive strategy is usually privileged over appeals to the character of the speaker or to the emotions of the audience. For Aristotle, formal arguments are based on what he calls syllogisms. All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. This is an argument in which some of the premises remain unstated or are simply assumed. Persuasion, to a large extent, involves convincing people to accept our assumptions as probably true. Similarly, exposing questionable assumptions in someone else's argument is an effective means for preparing the audience to accept your own contrary position. P1: People often react nervously when they purposely lie, or are purposely deceptive, when answering relevant questions. P2: You are reacting nervously when answering relevant questions. Conclusion: Therefore, you must be lying. P1: No lazy people pass exams. P2: Some students pass exams. Conclusion: Some students are not lazy. Baroco

Faulty Syylogism P1: People often react nervously when they purposely lie, or are purposely deceptive, when answering relevant questions. P2: You are reacting nervously when answering relevant questions. Conclusion: Therefore, you must be lying. P1: No lazy people pass exams. P2: Some students pass exams. Conclusion: Some students are not lazy. Syylogism

CLEAR - designed for teaching; simple thoughts, direct or simple modes, usual word choice, normal composition, low complexity, little use of figures. George Bush, "Defense of Saudi Arabia" (15): "I want to be clear about what we are doing and why. America does not seek conflict, nor do we seek to chart the destiny of other nations. But America will stand by her friends. The mission of our troops is wholly defensive. Hopefully, they will not be needed long. They will not initiate hostilities, but they will defend themselves, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and other friends in the Persian Gulf." (Great Speeches for Criticism and Analysis, 3d ed., Appendix [Diskette], ed. Lloyd Rohler and Roger Cook [Greenwood, IN: Alistair Press, 1998]. STYLE © 1999 by Robert N. Gaines. All rights reserved.

IMPRESSIVE -- designed for emotional transportation; impressive thoughts, striking modes, unusual word choice, careful composition, high complexity, high use of figures. Martin Luther King, "I Have a Dream" (16): "I have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day, right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all flesh shall see it together." (Great Speeches ) STYLE © 1999 by Robert N. Gaines. All rights reserved.

MORAL - designed to convey truth or character; otherwise like the clear style. Lyndon Johnson, "The Voting Rights Act of 1965" (38-39): "My first job after college was as a teacher in Cotulla, Texas, in a small Mexican- American school. Few of them could speak English and I couldn't speak much Spanish. My students were poor and they often came to class without breakfast; hungry. And they knew even in their youth the pain of prejudice, they never seemed to know why people disliked them, but they knew it as so because I saw it in their eyes. I often walked home late in the afternoon after the classes were finished wishing there was more that I could do. But all I knew was to teach them the little that I knew, hoping that it might help them against the hardships that lay ahead."And somehow you never forget what poverty and hatred can do when you see its scars on the hopeful face of a young child. I never thought then, in 1928, that I would be standing here in It never even occurred to me in my fondest dreams that I might have the chance to help the sons and daughters of those students, and to help people like them all over this country. But now I do have that chance. And I'll let you in on a secret--I mean to use it. And I hope that you will us it with me." (Great Speeches ) STYLE © 1999 by Robert N. Gaines. All rights reserved.

SWIFT - designed to compress thoughts in a brief space; any thought, quick modes, short words, smooth composition, any complexity, quick figures. John Kennedy, "Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association" (4): "But because I am a Catholic, and no Catholic has ever been elected President, the real issues in this campaign have been obscured--perhaps deliberately in some quarters less responsible than this. So it is apparently necessary for me to state once again--not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me, but what kind of America I believe in." (Great Speeches 32) STYLE © 1999 by Robert N. Gaines. All rights reserved.

SWEET - designed to please or entertain the audience; moderate thoughts, any mode, pleasant words, smooth composition, moderate complexity, high use of figures John Kennedy, "Inaugural Address" (4): "Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today, at home and around the world." (Great Speeches 236) STYLE © 1999 by Robert N. Gaines. All rights reserved.