ENGL 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Pathos
Document Summary
The goal of a lot of academic writing is argumentative: a successful paper can convince its readers to change their minds, to look at a problem differently, or to consider a new solution. So, more than two thousand years ago, aristotle described three different strategies (sometimes called rhetorical appeals) that writers and speakers can use to make their arguments more convincing. Be careful, however, because not every appeal is appropriate for every kind of argument. For example, there"s no place in a scientific research paper for an appeal to emotion. in many essays and speeches, however, teachers will ask you to practice using all three appeals. As you can see, some of them overlap, while others conflict. Used wisely, however, they can work together to make your argument as convincing as possible. Arguments using ethos (sometimes called ethical appeals) emphasize your trustworthiness. This reasonable, well-informed person believes this, they imply, so maybe the reader should, too.
