The art of word choice

Some Cornell Notes (set up the notebooks) Rhetoric= The art and study of using language effectively and persuasively. Aristotle identified 3 Types of Rhetoric: ETHOS PATHOS LOGOS

ETHOS  Ethos= The writer’s credibility OR the IMAGE that the author wants the reader to have of him/her  Established by the author’s TONE Some questions to consider: 1. What kind of image do you want to project to your audience? (Caring friend, concerned citizen, animal lover, mature young adult) 2. What can you do to help project this image? (Word choice, anecdotes, scenarios, background information) 3. What words or ideas do you want to avoid in order to not harm your image? (Will using “like” too much make you sound like a valley girl and NOT a mature young adult?) 4. What effect do misspelled words and grammatical errors have on your image? (Are you really mature if you can’t spell it?)

PATHOS  Pathos= Using language that makes the readers emotional  Emotions like anger, fear, pity, sadness, and their opposites are very powerful motivators and are very persuasive.  Questions to consider in your writing:  1. What emotions can help your reader make the decision you want them to make? 2. What words have a tone that matches the emotion you want the reader to have? (Use a thesaurus to help you.)

LOGOS  Logos= Using logic to make an argument  Statistics, data, facts, and even ideas that are thought to be true (solutions to problems that might work)  Questions to think about when you write: 1. What are some questions that a reader might have about your topic? 2.What are reasonable answers to those questions that you can add to your paper? 3. Can you use an elaboration strategy like House that Jack Built, Expert Testimony, or Concession- Rebuttal to add logic?

Try it out!  Using “America the Not-So-Beautiful,” section 4, find (annotate) at least one (1) example of each:  Ethos  Pathos  Logos  Share findings with group, then whole class