Ethos, Logos, Pathos
Ethos
Character, authority, credibility, trustworthiness
What automatically gives Ethos?
- Academic Credentials/Experts
- Powerful People
- Institutions and Organizations
- Leaders
Building & Establishing
- Explaining credentials or background to readers and emphasizing
Logos
Clear reasoning, specific detail, examples, facts, statistical data, etc
Conceding & Refuting
Concede: Acknowledging some validity to the argument
Refute: Minimize or disprove the overall weight of the argument
Pathos
Using emotion to invoke a specific response (especially with Diction)
Methods of Pathos
- Diction and connotations
- Images and visuals
- Vivid descriptions
Problems with Pathos
- Very cliche
- Propagandistic
- Polemical