What is a Rhetorical Appeal?

If you’re an AP® Lang student, you might have found yourself wondering what is a rhetorical appeal and how is it different from a rhetorical choice.

A rhetorical choice is something a writer “does.” Rhetorical choices create rhetorical appeals.

For more information about common rhetorical choices, check out this video.

The most common rhetorical appeals are logos, ethos, and pathos. However, you don’t actually want to use those terms in a rhetorical analysis essay.

Reading the phrase “The writer uses logos” is bound to make just about any AP® Lang teacher cringe.

Why?

First of all, “uses” is a weak verb.

Second of all, “logos” is a Greek term. It’s best to say “logic.”

But most of all, it’s because “uses logos” is often a missed opportunity. When you write “uses logos,” more often than not, you provide limited commentary, which results in a lower essay score.

Let’s look at each rhetorical appeal and how you can apply it to your writing.

Writing About Logos

For starters, remember that choices create appeals. Ask yourself what the writer is doing to be logical? Is he providing facts, statistics, or examples? Syllogistic reasoning? Conditional sentences? Examining the choice that creates the appeal often leads to stronger analysis.

Once you’ve identified the choice that creates the appeal, ask yourself why the writer chooses to be logical in that portion of the text. Think about the rhetorical situation. Why is it effective for the writer to be logical? Why would the audience respond better to logic rather than emotion?

Then, when it is time to begin writing, you want to step away from “uses logos.” You want to use stronger language and verbiage, giving specific examples of what the writer is doing and why they are doing it. Here are sentence stems to help you write about logical appeals:

SPEAKER appeals to logic by…
SPEAKER logically asserts…
Having noticed that…SPEAKER logical concludes/deduces that…
By including the example of X, SPEAKER logically builds his/her argument that…
By including facts/stats, such as…, SPEAKER logically develops his/her argument that…

Writing About Pathos

When writing about how a speaker or writer appeals to pathos, you want to be specific about which emotion the author is appealing to (ie. fear, nostalgia, patriotism, hope, etc.)

Once you have identified the emotion, ask yourself how you know the writer/speaker was appealing to that emotion. Was it the word choice and tone? Does the author use imagery, details, descriptions, or anecdotes to emit this emotion?

After you recognize the emotion and the choice behind it, you want to ask yourself why the writer is making the choice to convey that emotion at that particular point in the passage. What is the desired effect? What do they want the audience to think / feel / believe?

Once again, you want to refrain from saying “uses pathos.” Here are some sentence stems to help you create stronger statements:

SPEAKER appeals to AUDIENCE’S sense of SPECIFIC EMOTION by…
SPEAKER evokes a sense of SPECIFIC EMOTION to…
By noting…, SPEAKER seeks to elicit a sense of ___ from AUDIENCE…because…
By vividly describing…, SPEAKER conveys a sense of SPECIFIC EMOTION

Writing About Ethos

When authors appeals to ethos, they are trying to strengthen their credibility. When writing about this appeal to credibility, you want to consider how the author chooses to do so. Do they refer to their own knowledge or expertise? Do they reference the authority, experience, actions, or testimonials of experts?

If the author cites themselves as the expert, you need to ask why the speaker / writer is qualified to speak / write about the topic. How does the writer’s experience or testimony help to achieve the purpose, convey the message, or develop the argument?

If the writer refers to another expert, you need to ask yourself similar questions: Why does the speaker / writer include someone else’s expert account? How does this contribute to the purpose, message, or argument?

You can use the following sentence starters to begin writing about ethos:

SPEAKER bolsters his/her credibility by…
Acknowledging / Referencing X furthers SPEAKER’S credibility with AUDIENCE because…
Given that SPEAKER has not experienced X, he/she relies on the testimony of PERSON, who…
In order to convince/reassure AUDIENCE that…, SPEAKER mentions how he/she…