The Rhetoric of the Op-Ed Page:

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The Rhetoric of the Op-Ed Page

• Ethos, Pathos, Logos

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Activity 1 - Aristotles Three Modes of Rhetoric

• Rhetoric Using language to persuade
• According to Aristotle, rhetoric is "the ability,
  in each particular case, to see the available
  means of persuasion."
• (1) Logos Logical Appeal
• (2) Pathos Emotional Appeal
• (3) Ethos Ethical Appeal

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Logical Appeals (Logos)

• Logic of reason
• Even if you dont have specific facts at hand,
  you can try to sway audiences with arguments that
  will make logical sense to them (i.e., speak to
  your readers minds and force them to be
  reasonable/use common sense).

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Emotional Appeals (Pathos)

• Pathos Greek for suffering or experience
• You can also try to convince your audience by
  appealing to their emotions (e.g., sympathy,
  fear, hope, anger, desires, etc.).
• These are helpful because emotional responses are
  often stronger than logical ones (especially when
  the facts are against you).
• The danger in using these is that logical readers
  may recognize that their feelings and emotions
  are being manipulated.

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Ethical Appeals (Ethos)

• Ethos Greek for character
• Another way to convince your audience is to
  appeal to your readers sense of ethics, or moral
  values. These appeals
• Rely on commonly accepted beliefs and values
  (e.g., honesty and fairness are values that most
  people accept as worthwhile)
• Establish the credibility or trustworthiness of
  the source

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PATHOS EXAMPLE

• How does this
• advertisement
• appeal to emotion?
• Why?

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Activity 2 Annotations for Three ways to
persuade

• Highlight main idea (you should have at least one
  in the article). In other words, what is the
  sentence in the article that tells the reader
  what the articles message is.
• Highlight or Circle THREE unknown words or
  difficult words in the article in a different
  color
• Write the definition next to each word.
• Next ANNOTATE In other words, after EVERY OTHER
  paragraph write a two (short) sentence summary
  explain the main idea of those paragraphs in your
  own words or commenting on the ideas in that
  paragraph. (I should see several of these per
  page!)

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Activity 3 Analyzing Rhetorical Appeals in
Commercials

• Directions - For each of the following
  commercials, look for
• The persuasive claim What is the advertiser
  trying to convince you is true?
• The reasons Why does the advertiser suggest you
  should believe their argument?
• The persuasive appeals Does the advertiser
  primarily use logical (logos), emotional
  (pathos), or ethical (ethos) appeals?
• A possible counterargument What could someone
  argue that disproves the advertisers claim?
• Record your answers in your notes

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COMMERCIAL 1 ALLSTATE MAHEM IS COMING!
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COMMERCIAL 1 ALLSTATE MAHEM IS COMING!

• The persuasive claim? What is the advertiser
  trying to convince you is true?
• The reasons Why does the advertiser suggest you
  should believe their argument?
• The persuasive appeals Does the advertiser
  primarily use logical (logos), emotional
  (pathos), or ethical (ethos) appeals?
• A possible counterargument What could someone
  argue that disproves the advertisers claim?

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COMMERCIAL 2 ALLSTATE TV AD BACK TO BASICS
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COMMERCIAL 2 ALLSTATE TV AD BACK TO BASICS

• The persuasive claim? What is the advertiser
  trying to convince you is true?
• The reasons Why does the advertiser suggest you
  should believe their argument?
• The persuasive appeals Does the advertiser
  primarily use logical (logos), emotional
  (pathos), or ethical (ethos) appeals?
• A possible counterargument What could someone
  argue that disproves the advertisers claim?

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COMMERCIAL 3 ALLSTATE TROUBLE NEVER TAKES A
HOLIDAY
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COMMERCIAL 3 ALLSTATE TROUBLE NEVER TAKES A
HOLIDAY

• The persuasive claim? What is the advertiser
  trying to convince you is true?
• The reasons Why does the advertiser suggest you
  should believe their argument?
• The persuasive appeals Does the advertiser
  primarily use logical (logos), emotional
  (pathos), or ethical (ethos) appeals?
• A possible counterargument What could someone
  argue that disproves the advertisers claim?

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COMMERCIAL 4 GOOGLE CHROME - JESS TIME
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COMMERCIAL 4 GOOGLE CHROME - JESS TIME

• The persuasive claim? What is the advertiser
  trying to convince you is true?
• The reasons Why does the advertiser suggest you
  should believe their argument?
• The persuasive appeals Does the advertiser
  primarily use logical (logos), emotional
  (pathos), or ethical (ethos) appeals?
• A possible counterargument What could someone
  argue that disproves the advertisers claim?

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COMMERCIAL 5 HALFTIME IN AMERICA OFFICIAL
CHRYSLER SUPER BOWL
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COMMERCIAL 5 HALFTIME IN AMERICA OFFICIAL
CHRYSLER SUPER BOWL

• The persuasive claim? What is the advertiser
  trying to convince you is true?
• The reasons Why does the advertiser suggest you
  should believe their argument?
• The persuasive appeals Does the advertiser
  primarily use logical (logos), emotional
  (pathos), or ethical (ethos) appeals?
• A possible counterargument What could someone
  argue that disproves the advertisers claim?

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COMMERCIAL 6 MAC VS. PC WINDOWS VISTA
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COMMERCIAL 6 MAC VS. PC WINDOWS VISTA

• The persuasive claim? What is the advertiser
  trying to convince you is true?
• The reasons Why does the advertiser suggest you
  should believe their argument?
• The persuasive appeals Does the advertiser
  primarily use logical (logos), emotional
  (pathos), or ethical (ethos) appeals?
• A possible counterargument What could someone
  argue that disproves the advertisers claim?

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COMMERCIAL 7 BACK TO THE START
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COMMERCIAL 7 BACK TO THE START

• The persuasive claim? What is the advertiser
  trying to convince you is true?
• The reasons Why does the advertiser suggest you
  should believe their argument?
• The persuasive appeals Does the advertiser
  primarily use logical (logos), emotional
  (pathos), or ethical (ethos) appeals?
• A possible counterargument What could someone
  argue that disproves the advertisers claim?

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Activity 4 Debate project work

• Your debate project work will include the
  following
• Debate Cover Sheet
• Value Statement
• Pro/Con Chart
• Adult Questionnaire
• Student/Adult Survey (non-debaters only)
• Four Research Articles with Debate Notes

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Activity 5Surveying the Text

• Look at the article A Change of Heart About
  Animals by Jeremy Rifkin. Think about the
  following questions
• 1. Where and when was this article published?
• 2. Who wrote the article? Do you know anything
  about this writer? (Hint Look at the end of the
  article.) How could you find out more?
• 3. What is the subtitle of the article? What does
  that tell you about what the article might say?
• 4. The article was published on the editorial
  page. What does that mean?

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Activity 6 Annotations for a change of heart
about animals

• Highlight main idea (you should have at least one
  in the article). In other words, what is the
  sentence in the article that tells the reader
  what the articles message is.
• Highlight or Circle THREE unknown words or
  difficult words in the article in a different
  color
• Write the definition next to each word.
• Next ANNOTATE In other words, after EVERY OTHER
  paragraph write a two (short) sentence summary
  explain the main idea of those paragraphs in your
  own words or commenting on the ideas in that
  paragraph. (I should see several of these per
  page!)

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Activity 7 thinking critically about ethos,
logos, pathos

• I will distribute a worksheet with questions for
  you to respond to. Please record your answers on
  a separate sheet of paper.

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Activity 8 Annotations for letters to the
editor in response to a change of heart about
animals and hooked on a myth

• Highlight main idea (you should have at least one
  in the article). In other words, what is the
  sentence in the article that tells the reader
  what the articles message is.
• Highlight or Circle THREE unknown words or
  difficult words in the article in a different
  color
• Write the definition next to each word.
• Next ANNOTATE In other words, after EVERY OTHER
  paragraph write a two (short) sentence summary
  explain the main idea of those paragraphs in your
  own words or commenting on the ideas in that
  paragraph. (I should see several of these per
  page!)

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Activity 9 pre-writing packet for animal bill of
rights essay
Activity 10 in-class essay animal bill of
rights