Rhetorical Appeals
After reading Bowdon and Scott, “A Rhetorical Toolbox for Technical and Professional Communication,” I learned many terms used in a rhetoric appeal. This paper addresses three terms which are used to represent the types of rhetorical appeals. They can be used for effective communication in our daily lives. These include ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos entails the development of a character in one’s writing to enhance the audience’s understanding. Logos involves the introduction of an argument in one’s article which the author either supports or refutes. Pathos helps in creation of an emotional appeal to the audience.
This is the most important aspect in persuading an audience. It involves the use of the author’s credibility and character in convincing the readers or viewers. The writer would bring out a character through his or her text or publication. It is an idea that the author invents to help communicate effectively. The authors can prove the credibility of their article through various ways as discussed. The first one is the demonstration of how they are well-informed about the subject (Bowdon and Scott, p. 41). Secondly, they need to provide citations of the authorities used in the subject. Thirdly, the writer should avoid grammatical mistakes because they can easily interfere with the powerful ability of the piece of writing. Finally, one should be able to understand the problem at hand through the provision of the most appropriate solutions.
In my coursework, I will apply this idea by utilizing character development tactics when writing my main article and term paper. This will assist the reader of my work to be able to relate to the characters in the piece easily. It will also help him or her to get the real picture of the point or event I am trying to put across. I also learned that avoiding grammatical errors and using good citations will help persuade my audience, hence earning good marks.
This aspect needs to be used sparingly to avoid the disruption of the flow of the story. I will need to use it in the most applicable instances to avoid overdoing it.
This concept is used to appeal to the audiences’ emotions and values. The emotional appeal to the public enables the writer to establish a bond with the readers and at the same time, develop a goodwill attitude among the users (Bowdon and Scott, p. 43). Nevertheless, when applying pathos, humor can be of help to assure the motives of the audience accessing the article. The audience will also be able to evaluate the quality of the written text based on the values of its content.
In my coursework, I have learned that when writing texts, I should incorporate the emotions of the audience as well as their values. These are essential in establishing the desired bond with the readers of my editorial. The values will easily enable one to evaluate the quality of my work.
Pathos should be used in a careful manner because if overused, it may end up annoying the audience instead of establishing a connection between the public and the author (Herman, p. 100).
This is the final element which involves the introduction of an argument in a publication. If the audience agrees with the authors opinion, there will be no need to worry about the items being communicated. This shows the power of solid writing. If one can fully understand the part of the arguments and how they combine to come up with evidence, then he or she will be able to convince the audience easily.
I have learned that the application of logos in my articles will enable me to convince the audience using credible evidence.
If one has not mastered well the parts of the argument and how they collaborate to come up with credible evidence, then it will be difficult to convince the audience (Herman, p.102).
At the end of the book, I was able to appreciate the importance of logos, pathos, and ethos in writing of articles. They help in persuading the audience and making the people identify with the author’s position. However, the three tools should be used wisely. If overused, they might provoke the audience instead of persuading them to side with a particular argument.
Works Cited
Bowden, Melody and Blake Scott. “A Rhetorical Toolbox for Technical and Professional Communication.” 2003.
Herman, Jennifer L., et al. “Writing as Knowing: Creative Knowing Through Multiple Messaging Modes in an Engineering Technical Communications Course.” Creative Ways of Knowing in Engineering. Springer International Publishing, 2017. 99-120.