Appeals to Reason (Logos)

In general, there are three types of appeals in arguments (popularized by the Greek philosopher Aristotle). Logos, from which we get the English word "logic," refers to appeals of reason, common sense, general knowledge, and scientific research. Any of the expository modes (definition, cause/effect, comparison/contrast, and so on) can be used for rational appeals. Appeals to reason are considered the most important of all the means of persuasion. However, by themselves, appeals to reason often fail to be effective (Who in America doesn't know that smoking is unhealthy, and yet, despite that knowledge--and cigarette warning labels--many people not only continue to smoke, but new people continue to join the ranks of smokers).

Appeals to Emotion (Pathos)

Pathos (our English word "pathos," which means a feeling of pity or compassion, is derived from this Greek word), refers to various emotional appeals. The abuse of appeals to emotion has been so common that the term "rhetoric," which means "the art and science of speaking or writing effectively," is often used to mean "insincere speech or writing." Emotional appeals can be very powerful, but they work best in concert with rational appeals, and, in general, should follow rather than precede rational appeals. Emotional appeals can be especially effective in a conclusion. Because narration and description are expressive modes, these are often used to develop emotional appeals. The person who may not be convinced by a listing of the medical consequences of smoking may be convinced by a first person account from a victim suffering from lung or throat cancer as a consequence of smoking.

Appeals of Character (Ethos)

Ethos, from which we get the English word "ethic," refers to appeals of character. Ethical appeals are also ofen abused. One useful way of understanding ethical appeals is to see them, not as arguments a writer makes, but as arguments a writer is. In other words, arguing that a particular approach to a problem is the "right" or "ethical" thing to do, or is the "Christian" thing to do (which is both an appeal to ethics and an appeal to authority) is often ineffective. Writers have high ethical appeal when they show evidence of character: a sense of fairness, willingness to hear both sides of an issue, evidence of extensive research into all sides of the topic, command of language, and honesty. Bias, closed-mindedness, superficial understanding, poor grammar and spelling, lying, and plagiarism all indicate low or weak character and detract from the arguments being presented.