Ethos, Logos, and Pathos

by Dan Leveille

Ethos is appeal based on character. The writer might try to gain the reader’s trust. The writer might state that he or she has credibility and that the reader should agree with them. If the readers know that the writer is experienced in the area of his or her argument, they may have a easier time siding with the argument. If someone was arguing that the safety in a city needs to be enforced better, he or she could use ethos. “I have been involved with the City Safety Organization for over 10 years, and we have noticed the number of murders go up drastically.” This might be a sentence that the writer could use to get the reader’s trust. If a law enforcement officer was writing this, he may also use his position to make his argument seem more credible to the readers.

Logos is appeal based on logic. Logos is a way to create an argument. The good thing about it is that it’s factual. An argument using logos will contrast an argument using pathos, because pathos is geared towards the audience’s emotions. Arguments will be valid and truthful. If someone was writing an argument about the safety problem, he or she could use logos. They might say something like “Last year, 54 people were murdered in the city. Ten years ago, there were only 3 murders.” They could back up their argument using facts about the safety problems the city has been having. If readers see the statistics and logics behind the argument, they may easily side with the writer. In some cases, readers have a hard time disagreeing when there is factual data in the argument.

Pathos is appeal based on emotion. The writer will try to capture the reader’s emotions to make them feel anger, sorrow, or aspiration. If someone were arguing the safety problem, they may use a more emotionally-appealing approach. “More and more innocent men and woman are being murdered in this once-peaceful city.” They may try to lure readers into siding with their argument using emotions. Another way pathos could be used in such an argument would be to attempt to make the readers angry. In this case, they could use the city officials as a target of anger for slacking off and not enforcing safety. This could create a strong argument.