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8
From Ethos to Logos
Appealing to Your Readers
Y
our understanding of your readers influences how you see a particular
situation, define an issue, explain the ongoing conversation surround-
ing that issue, and formulate a question. You may need to read widely to
understand how different writers have dealt with the issue you address. And
you will need to anticipate how others might respond to your argument —
whether they will be sympathetic or antagonistic — and to compose your
essay so that readers will “listen” whether or not they agree with you.
To achieve these goals, you will no doubt use reason in the form of
evidence to sway readers. But you can also use other means of persuasion:
That is, you can use your own character, by presenting yourself as some-
one who is knowledgeable, fair, and just; and you can appeal to your read-
ers’ emotions. Although you may believe that reason alone should provide
the means for changing people’s minds, people’s emotions also color the
way they see the world.
Your audience is more than your immediate reader, your instructor,
or a peer. Your audience encompasses those you cite in writing about an
issue and those you anticipate responding to your argument. This is true
no matter what you write about, whether it be an interpretation of the nov-
els of a particular author, an analysis of the cultural work of horror films,
the ethics of treating boys and girls differently in schools, or the moral
issues surrounding homelessness in America.
In this chapter we discuss different ways of engaging your readers, cen-
tering on three kinds of appeals: ethos, appeals from character; pathos,
appeals to emotion; and logos, appeals to reason. Ethos, pathos, and logos
are terms derived from ancient Greek writers, but they are still of great
value today when considering how to persuade your audience. Readers
will judge your argument on whether or not you present an argument that
is fair and just, one that creates a sense of goodwill. All three appeals rely
on these qualities.08_GRE_5344_Ch8_211_256.indd 211 11/19/14 11:04 AM