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Facts and Feelings: rhetorical appeals in argumentative Writing
aCTIvITy 3.11
Learning Targets
• Identify logos and pathos used in an argument.
• Explain how evidence is relevant and sufficient to support a claim.
Rhetoric and Rhetorical Appeals
Rhetoric is the art of using words to persuade in writing and speaking. Writers use different types of rhetoric depending on their purpose and audience.
Writers of argumentative texts appeal to their audience using sound reasoning and evidence. Writers who use logical thinking that makes sense and is backed up with valid evidence (such as statistics, examples) are appealing to reason. This rhetorical appeal is known as logos.
At times, writers of argumentative texts also use evidence that appeals to feelings. When appealing to feelings, a writer uses emotional language or talks about basic values such as kindness, justice, and responsibility. This rhetorical appeal is known as pathos. Pathos should be used sparingly in an argument since relevant evidence is required to support a claim but an emotional appeal typically does not include evidence.
Preview
In this activity, you will read a letter and analyze how rhetorical appeals are used to support an argument.
Setting a Purpose for Reading
• As you read the letter that follows, highlight the claim. Mark the text for specific evidence that appeals to logic (logos, L) and to emotion (pathos, P).
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
my Notes
learNING STraTeGIeS:
Marking the Text, Rereading, Graphic Organizer
literary Terms
Rhetorical appeals, or persuasive strategies,
are used in arguments to support claims.
Logos is a rhetorical appeal that uses logical reasoning and evidence.
Pathos is a rhetorical appeal to feelings.
About the Author
The Grand Council Fire of American Indians was a Native American organization whose members came from many different tribes. The organization worked for better treatment of and policies for the American Indian populations. In 1927
a political campaigner (William Hale Thompson of Chicago) used a slogan of “America First” to claim that the history taught in textbooks was biased in favor of the British. Thompson won re-election as the mayor of Chicago, and he then demanded that the city’s textbooks be replaced with books that focused on the accomplishments of the ethnic groups in the United States. Members of the Grand Council Fire of American Indians used the “America First” program as an opportunity to describe how Native Americans also were misrepresented in textbooks. The president of the Council, Scott H. Peters (of the Chippewa Tribe) wrote the following letter to Chicago’s newly elected mayor asking that the contributions and accomplishments of Native Americans also be included in the textbooks.
Unit 3 • Changing Perspectives 225
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