Examples Of Ethos Pathos And Logos

Persuasion is simply “The act of causing people to do or believe something.” Persuading someone can be achieved with the three most common rhetorical appeals which are: logos, pathos and ethos.

 Logos is the logical reasoning provided by the author to the readers. There are two types of reasoning, deductive and inductive. Deductive reasoning starts off with the general idea and becomes more specific. Inductive reasoning goes from a specific part of the discussion to the general argument.

One example of logos comes from Car and Driver magazine, in a propaganda poster showing eight cars in a race track, seven out of the eight cars are painted red, these include a Ferrari F-40, a Porsche Carrera 911, an Acura NSX, a Chevrolet Corvette, a Porsche

Cayman, a Dodge Viper, and finally a Mercedes Benz S320. On the right side of the poster there is a silver BMW M3 coupe. On the left side towards the bottom it says “The best-handling car in America.” Then further down, “And seven others that look like they should be.” Finally, at the bottom of the poster it says “Car and Driver magazine named the BMW M3 the best-handling car at any price.” The purpose of the poster is to show how one does not have to spend more than forty thousand dollars to get a vehicle that is adequate for the race track as well as it is useful for everyday transportation. The ad uses inductive reasoning by showing seven cars that should be better than the BMW.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/37436240628674210/
The next example of logos is an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government.” Thomas Jefferson states that every individual has this rights, he uses logos by proposing the separation from the British government since these human rights have been violated. This is an example of inductive reasoning; he explains how the government has become destructive towards them so it is their right to start a new form of government.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
The last example of logos can be found in the famous speech by Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream.” He stated, “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” He uses logos by using the simple analogy of cashing a check and he concludes the analogy by saying, “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds.” Everyone understands how to deal with money so he knew that every person in the audience would be able to relate to dealing with a bad check. He uses deductive reasoning by stating racism and later describing it with a check with insufficient funds.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Pathos is the appeal that a writer would use to when he or she wants to appeal to the reader’s emotions by an actual life experience described in different forms like literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity, or of sympathetic sorrow or compassion so the audience can feel identified with the writing.
One example of pathos is an IcyHot commercial titled “Turn Pain Off” presenting basketball star Shaquille O’Neal.

The commercial starts by Shaq saying “This is big, you can get the same kind of therapy used by doctors and therapists without an appointment.” On the back ground a man at a therapy center is being treated for back pain, then you can see a guy doing the same kind of therapy in his home. This commercial depicts pathos by showing how back pain can stop you from doing simple things throughout the day, and how fast you can get relief from it. Then Shaquille asks him “How are you feeling?” The man responds “Feeling good Shaq.” The commercial ends with a description of the IcyHot Smart Relief and then the man enjoy his day outside. The purpose of the commercial is to show you how IcyHot Smart Relief can help you get rid of back

pain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtiPxslQRk0
Another example is an USA Today article titled “Time to show respect to America’s educators,” written by Myra Wayne as a response to the editor from the article “When teachers Cut Class.” Myra Wayne starts by pointing out that she spent nearly 30 years in business, and that she saw how employees are compensated for their work.

Then she says “I sometimes look at the options in teaching and wonder why such an important job is so poorly compensated yet it receives more criticism than respect in America.” She points out how much work teachers have to do even when their students are on vacation, and she wants her readers to sympathize with how hard teachers work. She points out that teachers don’t exit school the day that students are released and confirms this by saying “There are reports to complete, rooms to organize and lesson plans to write,” and “Teachers spend hours writing lesson plans and aligning them to the standards.” Myra ends the letter by comparing teachers with doctors on this sarcastic quote, “I cannot think of another profession, even medicine, that mandates 100% success, pays little and then harps when a person takes a day off – personal, sick, or otherwise.” This articles serves the purpose of finding a way to understand why teachers may want a day off and why the public should stop being so harsh on

them.
The final example is a magazine ad by Evian water. The ad shows a naked model lying in what is depicted as the French Alps, and the illusion that the model is elevated in the mountains. The model displays purity as she is creating a snow-angel. The idea of wanting to be purified or detoxed with the model having a great figure makes the reader worry about their health and the health benefits that they could get from drinking Evian water. The ad helps people find motivation to become healthier by purchasing Evian water.
Ethos is the trustworthiness that an author establishes to persuade his or her readers. Ethos is what will make someone want to read or listen to what the writer has to say. Achieving trust can be done by demonstrating experience or knowledge in the subject.
The first example is the article titled “When teachers cut class” by USA Today, the article describes the consequences of a teacher unexpectedly calling in sick. The article denotes “An Orlando Sentinel reporter recently found that one district had 35% more teachers sick on Fridays than Wednesdays.” The use of Ethos can be confirmed by the results pointed out by the studies of well respected universities. The writer confirms his discussion by pointing out what the two universities found out, “The Harvard study found that 10 days of teacher absence is equivalent to a student drawing a rookie teacher rather than a second-year teacher,” and “The Duke university study of North Carolina found similar results.” The example benefits the composition by demonstrating that the universities confirm the theory true of absence affecting education.
The next example comes from “Are Kids on a One-Way Path to Violence?” The article talks about how popular video games can fuel real-world violence. The author uses ethos by describing his own experience as a gamer, “As an avid gamer myself, and as someone who has worked in the industry.” Chase Dickinson also describes his knowledge of various video games, and how he was “raised buying and playing video games under parent supervision.” He goes on to describe that every video game has a rating implemented by the ESRB, “This rating system issues an age range for each game, disclosing the full contents of the game.” Establishing the authority is important to the entire composition so people believe that parents have a way of preventing what video games kids are exposed to.
Whether appealing to emotions, logic or establishing the authority, each plays an important role in the elements of persuasion. Most of the time all three types are used in a single composition to achieve success in persuading.