Ethos Pathos Logos

The battle of ethos
Ethos is a rhetorical device authors use to establish their credibility to speak authoritatively on a topic. To strengthen their arguments, they also use logos, or logical arguments and scientific data, and pathos to create an emotional reaction in the audience. In the ERWC Juvenile Justice unit, four different authors, with four different levels of ethos, discuss whether or not juveniles who have been charged with murder should be tried as adults in the adult court system. Most argue that minors should be tried in the juvenile court system, while one demands that adolescents who massacre innocent victims spend the rest of their lives in prison. After closely reading each author’s opinion, it is clear that Paul

Thomson has the most ethos in this unresolved debate while Jennifer jenkins has the least. (122)
In the article “ Startling finds on the teenage brain by paul Thompson speaks about how the teenage brain is unpredictable ,he also has the strongest use of ethos.Thompson who is a neurologist begins the article by speaking about teenage killer Nathaniel Brazill, Brazill at the age of thirteen shot and killed his middle school teacher Barry Grunow.

After talking about Brazill Thompson then goes into the science of the teenage brain , therefore during this he speaks about the loss of brain tissue in the brain . In his words “The loss was like a wildfire, and you could see it in every teenager. Gray matter, which brain researchers believe supports all of our thinking and emotions, is purged at a rate of 1 percent or 2 percent a year during this period”(7) . By using this in his article Thompson emits a sense of fear toward the reader , additionally he also gains credibility because he is using his own data from his research. Towards the end of the article Thompson says “ What is clear from this research is that parts of the frontal lobes that inhibit reckless actions restructures themselves with startling speed in the teenage years. Given this delicate - and drastic - reshaping of the brain, teen need all the help they can get to steer their development onto the right path”(10). When he uses this he discharges a feeling of safety and reassurance, furthermore this strengthens his credibility . Thompsons main argument for this is that the teenage brain is unpredictable.

(258)
In the article “ On punishment and teen killers” by Jennifer Jenkins she claims teens who commit horrible crimes should receive life without parole and the victims families should be more widely considered, she also uses the least amount of ethos.

Jenkins begins this article with “ some persons will shun crime even if we do nothing to deter them , while others will seek it out even if we do everything to reform them. Wicked people exist. Nothing avails except to set the apart from innocent people(1)” - James Q. Wilson , harvard professor and crime expert .Secondly Jenkins then begins to inform us of the terrible tragedy she and her family went thru when her pregnant little sister was shot and killed by a crazed teennager. The quote with Jenkins melancholy tale sets up the reader with a feeling of goodwill and deep sadness. The quote certainly builds up her credibility quite well ,furthermore her personal story calls into question how emotionally involved she is when she wrote the article . In paragraphs four jenkins once again uses personal experiences as a high school teacher , she said “As a high school teacher, i have worked lovingly with teens all my life and i understand how hard it is to accept the reality that a 16 or a 17 year old is capable of forming such requisite criminal intent” (4).Furthermore It is with this sentence and addition with her tragic story about her sister that a majority of her credibility disappears in the reader's eyes . Moreover

in paragraph ten she commences to speak about how media attempts to mask the Jlwop community (juvenile life without parole ) as young sweet six and seven year olds who have been punished for spilled milk. (295)