Rhetorical Appeals
Study the definitions and reflective questions in this table. Keep in mind that you should consider who you are writing to (your audience) and why you are writing to them (your purpose). How should your tone vary when writing an argumentative essay versus an informal email?
Rhetorical Appeal |
Abbreviated Definition |
Reflective Questions |
Ethos |
appeal to credibility You may want to think of ethos as related to "ethics", or the moral principles of the writer: ethos is the author's way of establishing trust with their reader. |
|
Pathos |
appeal to emotion You may want to think of pathos as "empathy", which pertains to the experience of or sensitivity toward emotion. |
|
Logos |
appeal to logic You may want to think of logos as "logic", because something that is logical "makes sense" – it is reasonable. |
|
Kairos |
appeal to timeliness You may want to think of kairos as the type of persuasion that pertains to "the right place and the right time". |
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