Ethos Pathos Logos

Introduction
According to Alderson (2005:320) critical reading involves “…identifying the function of a piece of writing, recognising author’s presuppositions and assumptions, distinguishing fact from opinion, recognising an intended audience and point of view, and evaluating a point of view…”. Critical reading means reading with the goal of finding deep understanding of a material, whether it is fiction or nonfiction. It is the act of analysing and evaluating what you are reading as you make your way through the text or as you reflect back upon your reading.

Authors have a variety of persuasive techniques which can be used as tools to influence the reader’s opinion. By analysing the techniques used by the writer, learner’s ability to critically read and analyse a text develops. Persuasive techniques vary, but according to Aristotle (trans. 1959) can be generalised as appealing to ethos (credibility), logos (logic), and pathos (emotion). This essay will specifically address the appeal to ethos by analysing the author’s motivation and potential bias, the appeal to logos by analysing the difficulties students have distinguishing between opinion and fact, and the appeal to pathos by analysing the use of emotive language (e.g. connotative

meaning) in texts. This essay will provide common errors made by English learners as well as provide solutions to develop the skills of critical readers.

Developing critical reading skills is useful for a variety of students as critical reading skills are important for a number of text types. By introducing students to effective learning skills, Hedge (2014:79) explains that students become more self-reflective and autonomous learners. By aiding students to recognise bias, they are empowered to make their own judgements about a text. Critical reading skills can be introduced to lower level learners depending on the text type and sub-skill employed, although higher level students generally have the ability to read critically more in-depth as they have the language skills and vocabulary necessary to ‘read between the lines’. Therefore, this essay will focus on critical reading skills appropriate to higher level students.

I decided to focus my research on critical reading directly due to personal experiences I had with a monolingual Turkish classroom. Many of the Turkish students I taught were raised in a culture that discouraged independent thought. My assumption was that they were either a) not accustomed to critically reading texts and therefore did not possess the skills to do so or b) able to critically assess reading texts and chose not to due to external pressures. It was pre-Turkish revolution days and it could be dangerous to offer unpopular opinions regarding politics or religion as explained by Grabe & Stoller (2003:58),  who highlight the socio-cultural and institutional differences affecting readers by noting that learners are influenced by external attitudes (community, parental) toward reading and uses of literacy. By allowing students to safely assess texts in the classroom on subjects which were not so volatile, it is my hope they would do so outside of the classroom with other reading materials.  

Analysis

What is critical reading?
Critical reading involves the analysis of a text and its potential underlying meaning. Critical readers examine texts to identify potential bias, language patterns (e.g. emotive language), and the author’s credibility as well as the credibility of the supporting arguments (e.g. facts or opinions) within the text. Critical reading skills can help to develop more critical thinkers by teaching the reader to question and evaluate texts. A critical thinker can avoid being persuaded by an author and instead form their own opinions about the subject of a text.

What is persuasive writing and where is it found?
Persuasion is the act of influencing a person’s beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, and behaviour. Therefore, persuasive writing is a form of writing which uses devices aiming to influence a reader. Persuasive writing can be found in a large variety of text types, such as newspapers, magazines, essays, advertising copy, non-fiction, fiction, and websites. It is used when an author is attempting to persuade the reader to agree with their specific viewpoint. Persuasive writing can be overt and easily detected or very subtle within a text, making detection more difficult, and therefore stresses the importance of developing critical reading skills to detect persuasive writing used in texts.

Ethos (Credibility)
Ethos appeals to ethical and moral reasoning. In persuasive texts, the author will convince the reader of their, or their sources, expertise and overall credibility as a believable expert on the subject.
As a private secretary to His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, for twenty years, I am well aware of his idiosyncratic behaviour.
The author is first stating why the reader should consider him/her as an expert on the subject by stating their experience and proximity to the prince.
He is a forensics expert for the FBI. If anyone is qualified to determine the murder weapon, it’s him.
The author is appealing to ethos by providing background information of the source, which makes the expert more credible and therefore more believable. Other ways in which an author attempts to prove credibility are:
Using appropriate style, syntax, and form
Avoiding all errors
Exhibiting expertise
Naming seemingly credible sources (researchers, scientists)

Credibility of the author
An important aspect of reading comprehension is also the ability to assess the writer’s intention, point of view and potential bias. Grellet (1981:24) describes the ability to assess the text as “vital” and says that critically assessing materials is an important part of reading competence since readers should be aware of the way in which authors may be attempting to influence the judgement of the reader. In general, texts which contain persuasive language, either intended or unintended (e.g. persuasive essays, advertisements, opinion editorials, etc.), combine statements of opinion with statements of fact.

Problems and solutions

Problem 1.
Assessing the author’s credibility
In my experience, students often fail to recognise the intention of the author, even though they understand the sentences themselves. By doing so, they are at risk of misunderstanding the whole passage. In addition, students often assume the material given to them, particularly in a class setting, is credibly sourced, therefore, they do not question the credibility or motivation of the author.

Solutions
1) Below is a list of questions which students are instructed to answer when possible. The questions are appropriate for a variety of different texts types, such as a newspaper clipping, adverts, excerpts from a novel, etc. It is important to use a variety of texts types to encourage critical reading skills for all materials read. In addition to identifying bias, it is important to question the author as it can provide students with further information regarding the content validity of the text. In other words, identifying if the information in the text is reliable.

Are the statements fact or opinion?
What is the author’s purpose or motivation for writing the material? (e.g. payment, political)
What is the author’s bias? (i.e. cultural, historical, socio-economic background, etc.)
What are the author’s qualifications on the subject?
When was the material written?
In what context does the material appear? (i.e. paid advertisement, politically biased paper, etc.)
Who is the ideal reader of the material?

1.1) Appendix A provides further analysis regarding the writer’s intention by analysing the communicative value of the text. This exercise trains students to ask themselves questions such as the ones used in the questionnaire to encourage a deeper comprehension of the text.

1.2) Appendix B allows students to compare and evaluate six websites. This exercise encourages critical reading skills on a practical level, using a medium they use daily.

Analysis

Logos (Logic)
Logos is the appeal to logic. This method relies on rationality and reasoning to influence the reader. The use of opinions with supporting evidence can appeal to a readers logos.
Fact: The Oxford dictionary (2015) definition of a fact is ‘a thing that is known or proved to be true.’
The latest findings prove that the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can cause birth defects.
The use of phrases such as the latest findings prove are clear indicators of factual information. Regardless of whether the factual information is in fact proven, the author is framing it as such as it is more effective as a persuasive tool.
Opinion: The Oxford dictionary (2015) definition of opinion is ‘a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.’
The attitude of the employees has worsened.
This is a subjective statement, which is not supported by evidence. The author might believe the employees’ attitude has worsened but has not proven it.
Additional examples of language used in facts and opinions adapted from BBC Skillswise (2011).

Some key words often used in factual or opinion-based statements are bolded. While these are common examples of words used to express opinions and facts, it must be noted that opinions can be disguised as facts, as shown below:
Council members have confirmed that most residents of Primrose Hill support the pedestrianizing of Regent’s Park Road.
Facts are possibly being expressed in this example, but there is little evidence proving what is said. Simply because council members have said that most residents support this, does not mean it is so. There is no information provided regarding how this information was compiled, for example through the use of a survey or questionnaire.

Problems and solutions

Problem 2.
Identifying fact versus opinion
Is the author expressing facts or opinions? In my experience, students cannot always easily identify facts from opinion. They must critically read a statement and the supporting arguments to decide whether the statement is justifiable (with sufficient support) or unjustifiable (lacking support). Additionally they must evaluate the evidence and can decide to accept the evidence supporting the statement, reject the evidence supporting the statement or alternatively suspend judgement until it is further researched or more evidence is provided. It is beneficial to provide exercises that help to identify specific language used when an author is expressing fact and alternatively when an author is expressing opinion, but it must be noted (as discussed in the analysis) that opinions can be disguised as facts.

Solutions
2) Appendix C addresses whether a statement is either a fact or an opinion, but also addresses the specific wording used to persuade the reader. This is an effective exercise as it trains students to discriminate between facts and opinions, as well as provides the ability to distinguish simple reporting from expressions of approval or disapproval. By providing students with exercises (Appendix A) that question the validity of statements made, it raises awareness to the fact that the author may be attempting to pass their opinions off as facts or to persuade the reader to side with their argument.
2.1) Appendix D requires students to evaluate the author’s assertions as opinion or fact by evaluating the sources cited as ranging from very credible to no source. This helps students identify whether a statement is fact or opinion and how credible it is.

Analysis

Pathos (Emotion)
Pathos appeals to the readers emotions. When an author is appealing to the reader’s pathos, they are relying on the readers to have an emotional reaction to what has been written. Emotive language may be providing the reader with facts or opinions, but the specific words used are intended to persuade the reader to take the opinion of the writer. Below is an example of a) a fact and b) factual information with emotive language, making the author’s viewpoint evident.
Many seals are killed each year.
Thousands of innocent baby seals are savagely clubbed to death year after year.
The first sentence could potentially be a factual sentence from a report on the use of seal skins by indigenous people, and therefore would likely not be an emotive sentence but instead one providing information. The second sentence obviously shows that the author feels very strongly against clubbing seals.
Critical reading requires the ability to recognise the tools of persuasion the writer is using. It is not always obvious for learners to identify when a piece of writing is subtly persuasive. A common way in which a writer may be subtly persuasive is through the use of connotation. By raising awareness with learners that connotation is often used as a persuasive writing tool, it can allow students to identify when such is the case and helps them become more critical readers.
Connotation
Denotation is the literal definition of the word. In contrast, connotation involves the feeling or emotional response a word or phrase can have in addition to its literal meaning. Hedge (2014:112) explains that connotative meaning is a phenomenon derived from a mix of cultural, political, social and historical sources, which learners will be aware of in their own language. The connotative meaning can be complex and dependent on the reader’s interpretation of the word. The connotation of a word is usually described as being either positive or negative, although the denotative meaning can be the same, as shown below.

The man is childish.
The man is childlike.
The man is youthful.

The first example has a negative connotation meaning the man is immature. The second example is more neutral, possibly referring to his attitude or physical attributes with neither a negative or positive connotation. The third example has a positive connotation referring to the man as youthful, which would be considered a compliment.

Problems and solutions

Problems 3.
Connotative meaning
Connotation can be a difficult subject for students to understand as the subtleties of connotation are not always obvious.

This can be particularly difficult for students who tend to translate and define words. In my experience, students can sound unintentionally rude or negative by simply choosing the wrong word. When referring to the word as wrong, it is only wrong in connotation, not in literal meaning. It is common for students to use words such as thin and skinny interchangeably, without noting the connotation. When reading, students do not always identify the connotation of a word and the effect it can have on the sentence and the general meaning of the text. It requires critical reading to be able to identify such

indicators.

Solutions
3) In addition, to being a valid exercise to identify fact versus opinion, Appendix C is also a very useful exercise to identify specific wording used to present opinions.

3.1) In my experience it has been a fun and useful exercise to identify names of sports teams or, as shown in Appendix E, names of cars and instruct students to analyse the connotative meaning of the names. This worksheet allows students to first review denotative and connotative meaning by coming up with their own examples of adjectives. It exhibits to the students that there are positive and negative ways of describing one thing.