Rhetorical Appeals
Rhetorical Appeals
Rhetorical appeals, including ethos, pathos, and logos are extremely important both for the producer and the consumer. While they were originally conceived by Aristotle, they continue to persuade viewers and readers alike even into the present day. As the textbook states, "Oftentimes an advertisement does not sell a product directly, but rather these associated ideas" (Lawrence, 2021, p. 35). By using ethos, pathos, and logos, advertisements get you to buy the product based on what you see. Ethos implies credibility and trustworthiness of a source. Pathos appeals to the emotions, whether positive or negative, that the source invokes, and logos uses rational arguments and factual evidence to create a rational argument. While logos is arguably the most common used by academic writers, ethos and pathos are more common in the world, in general, and especially in the media and on the Internet.
This video gives an interesting take on how to use rhetorical appeals in order to get your point across to readers or listeners and convince them to believe your point:
However, while it is important to know how to use rhetorical appeals to your advantage as a speaker and writer, I believe it is even more important to understand how to defend against them. As consumers, especially of digital media, we are sometimes naive to what we watch and read. Instead, we should be critical of what we are seeing and reading. We need to take time to analyze, rather than blindly following the idea of another person simply because they are famous, or because they appeal to our emotions.
In the same sense, as teachers, we have a responsibility to share this knowledge with our students. When I teach rhetorical appeals to my middle schoolers, many of them have never considered the fact that commercials, advertisements, social media sites, and other forms of information can be manipulative. When they start to learn how to incorporate rhetorical appeals into their writing, the lightbulbs start to appear. You can see them start to understand to question what they are told and think critically. As a teacher, especially in this day and age, teaching young people to be informed citizens and use critical thinking skills when determining what to believe.
In a 2023 article, the authors focus on the political use of social media on young voters, and they specifically examine the use of TikTok. As the textbook states, "we do not always know who to trust" (Lawrence, 2021, p. 38). Even with that being said, the article states that "current literature refers to online social networks as being the new rhetoric space of the 21st century" (Zamora-Medini, Suminas, Fahmy, 2023). The world is becoming more and more digital each day, and the new generations will have to deal with the challenges of this ever-changing landscape. The study also showed that ethos and pathos were most commonly used on the digital platform to inspire voters and that "Moreover, positive emotions such as inspiration and hope were more frequently used by political leaders, and more negative emotions were employed when pathos was used by political parties" (Zamora-Medini, Suminas, Fahmy, 2023). Even just in this small piece of the findings, it is shown that content creators, and all creators, whether on social media or not, use rhetorical appeals to their advantage. While in writing we teach this as a positive, as a consumer, and a teacher of young consumer, we must exercise caution when reading or listening.
References
Camille A. Langston. (2016). How to use rhetoric to get what you want - Camille A. Langston. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3klMM9BkW5o
Stewart, C. (2018). Ethos, Pathos, Logos. https://charleshstewart.com/blog/ethos-logos-and-pathos/
Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: a guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press
Zamora-Medina, Rocfo, et al. "Securing the Youth Vote: A Comparative Analysis of Digital Persuasion on TikTok Among Political Actors." Media and Communication, vol. 11, no. 2S1, Apr. 2023, pp. 218+. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org.ezproxy.montevallo.edu:2048/10.17645/mac.v11i2.6348. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
Hi Ashlynn, I really enjoyed reading your breakdown of ethos, pathos, and logos. I thought this blog showed the readers how these appeals are not just textbook concepts but tools we see every day in digital communication and in our schools. I think back to our textbook, Digital Writing: A Guide to Writing for Social Media and the Web and how it reminds us in that rhetorical awareness helps writers craft intentional messages for online audiences. (Lawrence, 2022) When looking to connect to further research I found some information that relates this topic to an emotional appeal(s) which plays a powerful role in influencing audience engagement in digital spaces (Vivas-Peraza, 2025).
ReplyDeleteHi Ashlynn, I agree with how we are now in an age that we have to teach digital citizenship. That involves discernment of false information, and protection of privacy. I enjoyed how our text broke down each component of what makes a text credible and appealing. Another rhetorical concept was sonic rhetoric. Lawrence (2022), includes this as a part of multimodal writing since this type of stimulus is important to include as a professional writer in the digital age. Those that misrepresent and miscommunicate on digital platforms use persuasion and while text can be interpreted differently depending on perspective and experience, recognition of a text makes it captivating (Rossi & Milino, 2023).
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post Ashlynn!
ReplyDeleteI remember learning about rhetorical appeals in high school and always thought they were so interesting. You are right, thought, we as consumers have to learn how to defend against them.
Lawrence discusses in the book that we are not always logical when it comes to believing things. In the article I researched, it states “ rhetorical appeals offer a powerful method of persuading people to believe” (Savolainen, 2022). The article discusses how during the COVID-19 pandemic, rhetorical appeals were used often to persuade people to believe certain ways about vaccines and other aspects of the disease. I think it should also be the producer’s responsibility to ethically utilize ethos, pathos, and logos when pushing their ideology. People tend to lead with their emotions when making decisions.
Here are my resources
DeleteLawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: a guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press
Savolainen, R. (2022). Defending and refuting information sources rhetorically: The case of COVID-19 vaccination. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 55(4), 999–1014. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006221111196
Hi Ashlynn! I really like how you explain the roles of ethos, pathos, and logos, especially your point that emotional and credibility appeals dominate media spaces. One idea I would add is that in digital environments, these appeals are often blended and amplified by platform design, not just chosen by the writer. Lawrence explains that online texts are shaped by algorithms, interface features, and circulation patterns, meaning persuasion is influenced by technological systems as much as rhetorical strategy (Lawrence, 2023). In other words, an ad using pathos may spread widely not only because it is emotionally compelling, but because platforms reward content that generates reactions and engagement. This shifts rhetorical power from the creator alone to the interaction between creator, platform, and audience. Understanding that relationship helps us become more critical consumers of digital media, not just analyzers of rhetorical appeals.
ReplyDeleteReference
Lawrence, D. (2023). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press.