Using Appeals in Argument

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Using Appeals in Argument

• Chapter 1 The Nature and Process of Argument

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Using Appeals in Argument

• To argue successfully, a person cannot rely
  solely on facts facts need to be explained, be
  placed in a particular context, or have their
  importance validated (White Billings, 15).
• For an argument to be viewed as successful, the
  speaker/writer must turn to strategies of
  persuasion known as the appeals ethos, pathos,
  and logos.

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Aristotles Appeals

• Ethical the appeal to tradition, authority, and
  ethical and moral behavior, which Aristotle terms
  ethos
• Emotional the appeal to feelings and basic human
  needs, such as security, love, belonging, and
  health and well-being, which Aristotle identifies
  as pathos and
• Rational the appeal to reason and logic, which
  Aristotle terms logos.

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How do Appeals Reinforce Evidence?

• Say a writer wants to argue that if acid rain
  continues, agriculture in a region will be
  threatened. To argue this claim convincingly, a
  writer first needs to bring in indisputable
  factsthose from scientific experiments (15).
• Use of appeals can enhance the persuasive forces
  of the thesis.

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Examples of Appeals as Evidence

• An ethical (ethos) appeal that introduces the
  testimony of an expert, such as a farmer whose
  crops have been affected or an industrial chemist
  who has a professional understanding of the way
  in which acidity in rainfall reacts with soil
  nutrients.
• An emotional (pathos) appeal that discusses the
  basic human needs for uncontaminated food or
  justifies the fear of cancer many people will
  have if the situation is not corrected.
• A rational (logos) appeal that emphasizes the
  logical and inevitable consequences of what
  happens to soil and crops when acid rainfall goes
  untreated.

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Aristotelian Appeals, in Correspondence w/the
Elements of Communication
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Purpose of Appeals

• Appeals such as these go a long way toward
  reinforcing the evidence and strengthening the
  writers argument.
• Combining appeals in a given argument can be
  especially effective.
• Persuasion is more than simply arguing for the
  sake of arguing. You must do so strategically,
  with tact, and above all, with a purpose.

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Works Cited

• Billings, Simone, J., and Fred D. White. The
  Well- Crafted Argument. 4th. Boston, MA
  Wadsworth, 2011. 15-18. Print.