Persuasion: The Rhetorical Appeals

A document produced with the primary goal of persuading an audience has the daunting task of performing three tasks simultaneously:

• Reinforcing existing attitudes among those who will read or use it,
• Shaping the attitudes of audience members who at present have no firm opinions on the subject one way or the other, and, most difficult of all,
• Reversing the opinions of those who are opposed to the argument or perspective being set forth in the document.

Perhaps the most well-known treatise on the subject, Aristotle Links to an external site.’s (384-322 BC; Figure 2.2) The Art of Rhetoric Links to an external site., establishes the three rhetorical “appeals” or modes of persuasion that we find today in any modern decription of argumentative technique: pathos, ethos, and  logos.

These three modes, which form the sides of what we call the rhetorical triangle (Figure 2.3), represent the different ways a single communication — a television commercial, a speech, a proposal, a report, anything that delivers a message or argument — can appeal to its intended audience. They are the general means by which a writer persuades a reader.

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Pathos

Pathos refers to an emotional appeal. When a writer makes a pathetic appeal, the message is so arranged that it speaks to our “higher emotions” of love, pity, sense of fairness, and desire to do what is “right,” or even to our “lower emotions,” such as greed, hatred, and lust. 

Consider singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan’s television ads Links to an external site.for the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Links to an external site..  The ad’s mix of animal photographs with a soundtrack that features McLachlan singing a sad song (“Angel”) aims directy for the emotions of viewers. 

Ads like this one and others for products from Hallmark cards Links to an external site. to Subaru cars Links to an external site. that focus on the use of pathos are part of a trend advertising researchers call “sadvertising.” In “’Sadvertising’ Pulls on Consumers’ Hearts and Purse Strings,” Links to an external site. Nicole Coleman, assistant professor of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh, writes that such ads have the “goal of eliciting authentic emotional responses – actual tears, in some cases.”

These ads have proven to do a very good job of raising money or eliciting business. A 2008 New York Times article, “Ad Featuring Singer Proves Bonanza for the A.S.P.C.A,” Links to an external site. for example, claims that in less than two years, the original ASPCA “Angel” ad (from early 2007) raised over $30 million, an amount that “makes it the A.S.P.C.A’s most successful fund-raising effort and -- a landmark in nonprofit fund-raising, where such amounts are virtually unimaginable for a single commercial.”

A pathetic appeal is thus designed to hit the viewer or reader emotionally, either through words, images, or a blend of the two. Rarely does a professional writing document rely solely on pathos, however, although many visual documents can and do.

Most professional documents attempt to achieve a blend of rhetorical appeals in setting forth their arguments. Ethos and logos prove especially vital to documents designed for public consumption.

Ethos

The second mode, ethos, describes an appeal to the audience’s ethical sensibilities. It is the sense the writer/creator imparts in a document of his or her authority, trustworthiness, credibility, reliability, and fairness. To borrow a descriptive phrase associated with literary analysis, this “sense of the author” might best be described as the persona he or she adopts for the reader.

Professional writers interested in establishing their ethos with readers, listeners, or users work to connect with them in a number of ways. As discussed later in this chapter, they will attempt to to establish their own credibility or trustworthiness as a sound base, emphasize benefits for their audience, address concerns and counterarguments, show that their reasoning is sound (which really pulls in logos!, and measure their language or tone.

Doing all of these things simultaneously will go a long way toward imparting a sense of the writer (you) as impartial, reliable, and trustworthy. If you want to make yourself an authority figure, you will remain objective when writing about a “hot” issue rather than use inflammatory wording, adopt a lofty or “imperial” tone, or talk down to your readers.

If you are preparing a document that uses the testimony of experts in the field, you should also establish their authority, trustworthiness, and other qualities by providing their titles for readers. University spokesperson, Virginia Tech history professor, Richmond-based obstetrician, and other such titles tell your readers This person knows what he or she is talking about. You can trust what is said.

Think this advice is perhaps a bit exaggerated?  What do you think when you hear a television commentator use terms like liberal socialists or right-wing extremists? Do you accept that the person’s response is objective, without bias? Can you then accept what he or she has to say about a subject without wondering whether their response to the “other side” has colored their judgment?  On the humor web sites The Liberal Insult Generator Links to an external site. and The Conservative Insult Generator Links to an external site., you can even hit a button and generate random insults about your “opponents,” like spineless victim-playing whiners, Birkenstock-wearing bleeding hearts, bitter cave-dwelling bigots, and ignorant Earth-defiling hypocrites.[2 Links to an external site.] Funny, yes. But in a serious document, these terms would do nothing but turn off your readers. If you want to be taken seriously, you must remain objective.

Logos

Finally, logos refers to the readers’ logic or reasoning ability.  Writers who want to ensure that they have done their homework when creating their arguments will marshal evidence to support their claims: they will put into their documents facts, statistics, case studies, the results of experiments, quotations from authorities on the subject, information gathered from interviews and surveys — basically, anything that will prove the validity of their claims. Works Cited or Bibliography pages and Notes sections (footnotes or endnotes) go a long way toward convincing your readers that you have done your homework and fully researched your subject.

Providing such support also will help establish your credibility not only as an author but also an authority on the subject at hand.  Imagine writing a report about pollution at the Virginia Tech Duck Pond. Your task is to prove that such pollution exists and suggest ways it can be eliminated.  What proof could you include to convince your readers that the problem exists and must be solved?

You’d want a thorough identification of existing pollutants, with explanations of the effects of each; photographs of trash and visible pollution; expert testimony about the pollution, gathered perhaps from talking to VT professors; and charts that show how the levels of pollution have perhaps grown over time, among other things.

Now imagine not including any of that information. What would you be left with? A piece of writing based solely on your opinion.

Facts persuade readers. That’s why you must do what you can to research thoroughly and exhaustively when you are preparing any document for public consumption.

Although these three appeals seem very different, in fact in every successful technical writing document they coexist.  Each one affects the other, and each is affected by the context of the communication itself:  when, why, where, how, and for whom the document is produced.

So exactly how does rhetoric fit into our course on professional writing? Understanding what it is and how it functions can shape the way you approach three of the most important professional writing concepts: audience, purpose, evidence, and tone.

In a nutshell, professional writing documents are what we call reader-centered. Each one exists for a specific purpose, but regardless of that purpose, success depends upon the document’s ability to persuade its intended audience  to do something with it:  accept its proposal, bring its writer in for an interview, understand its subject in depth, or see how much progress its creator has made on a certain project, among other potential actions. 

In order to achieve its intended purpose, the document must appeal to its readers in some way — either emotionally, logically, or ethically, or all combined — and provide enough evidence to support its assertions.

Beyond that, tone is the final piece of the puzzle that is successful professional writing. In the same way that pathos, logos, and ethos work in tandem, you must also recognize that audience, purpose, and evidence are indivisible, for together they help your document reach its persuasive goals.