One simple (yet immensely important) English lesson from school has stuck with me throughout my entire career and constantly plays in the back of my mind in speaking and in writing, Rhetorical Appeals. Understand the three basic points and you will find your writing to be of much greater value to yourself and to your readers.
Logos
- From the Greek word for "thinking"/"rationale"
- An application of logic in writing
- Include logos by using rational arguments with factual information and legitamate reasoning
Pathos
- From the Greek word for "sensation"
- An application of emotion
-
Effectively use pathos by determining what emotion you intend to instil in the audience, e.g.:
- If you are writing about charitible donations to animal shelters, try to evoke sympathy in your readers through wordchoice/sentence structure with sorrowful connotations.
- If the piece is given to promote a new, exciting product or promotion, use trigger words with very positive annotations like "ideal," "astonishing," etc.
Ethos
- Derived from the Greek word meaning "character"
- An application of credibility
- Bring ethos into each piece by writing about what you know best and using your own experience to prove to the audience you are worth listenting to. You wouldn't buy a car from a 10-year old, would you?
- If you are using information from others, be sure to cite each and every source. That way, the reader will know you aren't simply taking another person's work and calling it your own.
Each and every writing piece will contain all three of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos, it is how much of each you use that will set the stage for it. Use more logos and pathos and you will likely find yourself writing something persuasive. Take on more ethos in the works and one could guess your work as being something instructive or constructive.
Comments(1)