Notebook
Rhetorical Appeals
● refer to ethos, pathos, and logos. These are classical Greek terms, dating back to
Aristotle, who is traditionally seen as the father of rhetoric. To be rhetorically effective
(and thus persuasive), an author must engage the audience in a variety of compelling
ways, which involves carefully choosing how to craft his or her argument so that the
outcome, audience agreement with the argument or point, is achieved. Aristotle defined
these modes of engagement and gave them the terms that we still use today: logos,
pathos, and ethos.
○ Logos: Appeal to Logic
■ Logos is frequently translated as some variation of “logic or reasoning,”
but it originally referred to the actual content of a speech and how it was
organized. Today, many people may discuss the logos qualities of a text to
refer to how strong the logic or reasoning of the text is. But logosmore
closely refers to the structure and content of the text itself. In this resource,
logos means “text.”
○ Pathos: Appeal to Emotions
■ Pathos is frequently translated as some variation of “emotional appeal,”
but it originally referred to the elements of a speech that appealed to any
of an audience’s sensibilities. Today, many people may discuss the pathos
qualities of a text to refer to how well an author appeals to an audience’s
emotions. Pathos as “emotion” is often contrasted with logos as “reason.”
But this is a limited understanding of both pathos and logos; pathos more
closely refers to an audience’s perspective more generally. In this
resource, pathos means “audience.”
○ Ethos: Appeal to Values/Trust
■ Ethos is frequently translated as some variation of “credibility or
trustworthiness,” but it originally referred to the elements of a speech that
reflected on the particular character of the speaker or the speech’s author.
Today, many people may discuss ethos qualities of a text to refer to how
well authors portray themselves. But ethos more closely refers to an
author’s perspective more generally. In this resource, ethos means
“author.”
○ Kairos
■ Kairos is a term that refers to the elements of a speech that acknowledge
and draw support from the particular setting, time, and place that a speech
occurs. Though not as commonly known as logos, ethos, and pathos, the
term kairos has been receiving wider renewed attention among teachers of
composition since the mid-1980s. Although kairos may be well known
among writing instructors, the term “setting” more succinctly and clearly
identifies this concept for contemporary readers. In this resource, kairos
means “setting.”
○ Telos
■ Telos is a term Aristotle used to explain the particular purpose or attitude
of a speech. Not many people use this term today in reference to rhetorical
situations; nonetheless, it is instructive to know that early rhetorical
thinkers like Aristotle actually placed much emphasis on speakers having
a clear telos. But audiences can also have purposes of their own that differ
from a speaker’s purpose. In this resource, telos means “purpose.”
