Name: _________________

Supporting An Opinion: Modes of Persuasion

There are several ways to appeal to an audience. When you are writing an argumentative paragraph three modes of persuasion can be used Logos Ethos Pathos

These modes of persuasion help support our opinions. Logos: - Logos refers to any attempt to appeal to our intellect (academic arguments). - There is logical reasoning involved to support the authors opinions. Example: "More than one hundred peer-reviewed studies have been conducted over the past decade, and none of them suggests that this is an effective treatment for hair loss." Ethos: - If we believe that a speaker has good knowledge, good moral character, and goodwill, we are inclined to believe what that speaker says. - It is a means of convincing someone by credibility/character of the persuader (expertise/authority/professional). Example: "My three decades of experience in public service, my tireless commitment to the people of this community, and my willingness to reach across the aisle and cooperate with the opposition, make me the ideal candidate for your mayor." Pathos: - Pathos is an appeal to the audiences emotion. - It is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response that the audience may relate to. - A common use of pathos would be to draw love, pity, fear, and perhaps anger from an audience through empathy (the feeling that you understand and share another persons experiences and emotions). Example: I understand how you feel. I went through the same thing when I moved to another city. I had no friends to comfort me when I needed it the most.

Activity: Identifying Logos, Ethos and Pathos

Read each paragraph and identify which paragraph expresses either Logos, Ethos, or Pathos. Explain why it would fall under one of the modes of persuasion in one or two sentences. 1. Mode of Persuasion: ______________________ Our expertise in roofing contracting is evidenced not only by our 100 years in the business and our staff of qualified technicians, but in the decades of satisfied customers who have come to expect nothing but the best. _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ 2. Mode of Persuasion: ______________________ In these trying times, finding another job is as difficult as keeping one, if not more. Who will then feed their families if they are no longer employed? Imagine their small children starving, and their fathers and mothers barely able to buy them ample food. Who will then pay their monthly rents for their houses? Imagine a family being deprived of shelter just because of their inability to pay. _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

3. Mode of Persuasion: ______________________ "However, although private final demand, output, and employment have indeed been growing for more than a year, the pace of that growth recently appears somewhat less vigorous than we expected. Notably, since stabilizing in mid2009, real household spending in the United States has grown in the range of 1 to 2 percent at annual rates, a relatively modest pace. _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________