Miscellaneous Writings

Ethos, Logos, and Pathos are persuasive appeals which are used to send a message to audiences in various forms. Ethos essentially deals with ethics as it is a method of assuring an individual based on the credibility of the persuader. The persuader is believed to have a strong background on the topic which can make his or her views and statements more convincing to the audiences. An example of Ethos is having a dietician providing his or her claim on whether eating multiple meals throughout the day is good or bad for one’s body. The dietician has a lot of knowledge on this topic due to his or her experiences with different experimentations on individuals and from school. This form of appeal can be used when one has a strong knowledge about a certain topic from prior experience or from an educational background. Logos is a persuasive appeal based on the logical reasons behind a certain topic. An example of logos would be using history to argue about current issues such as placing limitations on a president’s power in order to avoid dictatorships which have occurred in the past. This example gives a perfect definition of logos as the persuader is using facts from history to provide a strong logical reasoning on why any ruler’s powers should be limited. Logos would be best applied for controversial topics which requires logical reasoning in order to avoid biased opinions. Pathos is a means of persuading the audience using emotional responses. An example of pathos can be about an undocumented citizen voicing his or her anger on Trump’s new policy. This persuader is expressing his emotions which can catch the attention and even gain support from the audiences as they can acknowledge the obstacles the persuader is facing. Pathos would be best applied in topics that would affect a person’s well-being.