1. Rhetorical Appeals and related things.
Preparing for Rhetorical Analysis RCL style.

2. What are the Rhetorical Appeals? The technical words, etc.
ETHOS: appeal to character
PATHOS: appeal to emotion
LOGOS: appeal to reason

3. ETHOS
Effective persuasion depends on the rhetor’s ability to establish credibility & gain the audience’s confidence.

4. To be VERY clear…
Knowing the terminology will help you on vocabulary quizzes.
Knowing the terminology will help you get the gist of conversations.
BUT. Understanding how to read texts because you “get” the ideas behind the terms is fundamental to rhetorical analysis.

5. It may not be the usual way to do this, but I HIGHLY recommend only making vague note of the terms so you can see the text through a rhetorical lens.

6. Cute animal break.

7. ETHOS is more than just being (or seeming!) authoritative…

8. ETHOS is about trust. Trust is about connection.
The rhetor must make a connection with the audience.
Remember: in the rhetorical situation, the rhetor, audience, and message are bound together.
ETHOS is about trust. Trust is about connection.

9. Rhetors must show they understand their audience’s perspective.
They observe the audience and situation.
Rhetoric is the art of observing in a given situation the available means of persuasion…
They adapt to the audience and situation.
They identify similarities with the audience.

10. In Greek, ETHOS has two meanings.
CHARACTER: who you are
HABIT: what you do
Actions speak louder than words.
In Greek, ETHOS has two meanings.

11. Establishing Character: Goodwill
Showing respect for others’ values (even if they differ from the rhetor’s).
Valuing the welfare of others.
Treating the audience as equals.
Demonstrating open-mindedness.
Using humor (when appropriate). Note: sarcasm is a tricky kind of humor for a rhetor. Why?

12. Establishing Character: Credibility
Displaying knowledge of the subject.
Or showing significant expertise or being an authority on a subject.
Citing others who are authorities.
Using a “genuine” voice (being themselves).
Showing personality. (and then, what is that personality?)

13. Establishing Character: Actions
Reminding the audience of their accomplishments.
Pointing to their history of truthfulness.
Informing the audience of their education and experience.
Showing the audience that they live/work “just like you!”

14. What are some ways that a rhetor could jeopardize their ETHOS
What are some ways that a rhetor could jeopardize their ETHOS? (in this case, their “presidential” ethos)

15. Cute animal break.

16. Logos is any appeal to logic or reason.

17. more than just data or equations…
But LOGOS is
more than just data or equations…

18. LOGOS is about a desire for proof.
The rhetor must convince the audience that their message is rational.
There are many ways a rhetor can provide “proof.”
Remember: Proof is not necessarily the truth. Or rather, there can be more than one truth.
However, we desire (and demand) Truth, and Truth may seem to equal Proof.
LOGOS is about a desire for proof.

19. There are two basic kinds of LOGOS.
An appeal to our desire for “hard evidence.”
An appeal to general reason.
There are two basic kinds of LOGOS.

20. Presenting “Hard Evidence” (standard, easy to identify logos)
Statistics
Law
Science

21. Using Reason Examples (real or hypothetical). Precedents.
Analogies or metaphors.
Comparing or contrasting.

22. Cute animal break.

23. PATHOS Pathos is the emotional state of the audience
brought on by the rhetor.

24. PATHOS is about the audience’s state of mind.
BUT, rather than think about emotions at all, I’d like you to think about state of mind.
The audience enters the rhetorical situation in a particular state of mind about the situation.
The rhetor’s job is to align the audience’s state of mind with the argument they’re making.
PATHOS is about the audience’s state of mind.

25. PATHOS appeals to… Shared Values Emotion
The rhetor considers values that they believe the audience holds and then emphasizes those values.
The rhetor draws on emotion that they believe will make the audience open to their argument.

26. Remember that PATHOS can refer to many different states of mind, not just the obvious. If you truly think about state of mind, you’ll get this.

27. Strategies for appealing to PATHOS:
Using description.
Telling stories.
Using emotion-laden language.
Repeating words or phrases.
Rhythmic syntax.
Using examples.

28. What are some ways that appeals to emotion/values might fall flat?

29. It is important to remember:
Most appeals work best when they are combined and most often ETHOS/LOGOS/PATHOS overlap.
All of the appeals are about making connections with the audience.
The rhetorical appeals aren’t an easy formula.

30. Additional semi-tangential thoughts:
The book says that, “through the lens of rhetoric, we can gain important insights about the contemporary world in three important areas”:

31. Identity and Power
Identity: Set of labels, patterns of behavior, ways of representing yourself that make your public persona.
Power: Political power and social status are linked to the identity categories with which you affiliate (in terms of institutional representation and how you are treated by others)
Rhetoric helps us understand how actions, symbols, discourses are persuasive. (ex. How do discourses of discrimination become widely accepted?)

32. Visual and Material Symbols
How do visual symbols and material symbols persuade us to act, think, or believe in certain ways?
Rhetoric can apply to a wide range of objects of study beyond speech.
For example: monuments, pieces of art, floral arrangements…
Who looks at these things? Where, when, why? What political and social statements do the objects make? Do they do what they’re supposed to do? (are they persuasive?)

33. The Public and Democracy
How are political messages, representations, and habits constructed and repeated? How are they persuasive for particular groups of people or voters?

34. HOW TO MAKE A WOMBAT DAY CAKE.
The end.
HOW TO MAKE A WOMBAT DAY CAKE.