It is impossible to know for certain what is going
to persuade someone. All respond differently. However, there are categories of
persuasion to improve our chances for our audience to our way of thinking.
Aristotle gave us three classical approaches: ethos, pathos and logos. Ads are
the more modern approach, known for its use in charts and graphs in the 1992
presidential campaign of Ross Perot: statistics. Perot uses statistics graphs
as the main argument, and his explanation was secondary.
The Greek word ethos "ethos" refers to the
character that defines a person. In the context of the rhetoric, ethos can be
thought of as the persuasion through the credibility, as Andrew Dlugan explains
in his article in "Six minutes". Use ethos in the persuasion means
qualify a statement with credentials. An argument could be preceded by titles
and achievements of an author. Ethos can also be used in the manner in which an
author communicates. If your voice is authorized if it sounds like an expert
the public is more willing to give it the credibility of an expert.
Pathos is the use of emotion in persuasion. The
authors often use anecdotes trying to get an audience of sympathize with your situation.
In a sense, much of the literature is a test that uses pathos to make an
argument. We sympathize with notables, by what we see things from their point
of view. Similarly, in the trials that use pathos, we are forced to "put
ourselves in the shoes of another person".
Logos"
is a term from the classical Greek that means "word" or
"logic". This is the most important tool in the drafting of texts:
make a statement and then support it with evidence. The argument of support is
the "logos". The author is about to the audience through the logic of
your statement. If the logic cannot be criticized or is not an error, the
conclusion is generally accepted.
Statistics
are closely related to the logos. The statistics by themselves are not always
used to support an assertion. I believe without the context of a logical
argument, may be little more than organized data. In the context of a
discussion, the statistics may provide the logos of a test, can consolidate an
argument. The source of statistics uses ethos. The narration invokes pathos. In
the fund, however, appealing to our logic.
Armando, you have some good ideas, examples, and analysis in this post. You are using PEE structure pretty well. You can improve your writing if you try to read it from the reader's point of view and then revise/edit it so that it flows a little smoother. Keep up your hard work!
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