The Art of Persuasion

Logos, pathos, and ethos are a writer's way to persuade an audience into believing what the writer is saying.  Logos are considered to be logical arguments.  Formal arguments are based on syllogisms, for example:  People are mortal.  I am a person.  I am mortal.  In ordinary conversations and writing, an argument called an enthymeme is commonly used.  An enthymeme is an argument with some of the premises being unstated.  Often times, the premises are just assumed, for example:  People are mortal.  I am mortal.  Nobody would think that anyone else is immortal, so we would just assume that people are mortal.

Pathos are appeals based on emotions.  Concrete language is a technique used to create vivid and emotional imagery.  Stories with emotional content, such as sadness, anger, or happiness, can easily levitate an audiences opinion of what you're trying to accomplish.  When the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary happened, people jumped on the bandwagon of banning assault rifles.  While several emotions arose during this tragedy, the arguments for banning assault rifles had not changed, but people engaged emotionally after the event, and wanted to do something about it.

Ethos are appeals based on credibility or character.  The power of persuasion is convincing the audience that you belong to the group that you are discussing.  Having experience with your topic, and stating it in your writing, would help the relationship between your story and the audience.  First impressions of a writer, influence how an audience is going to react to the writing.  If I were to put on a white coat, with a name tag saying Dr. Bowman, M.D., and began to talk about research in the medical profession, the audience would be more apt to believe what I was saying. 

All three modes of persuasion can help my skills at constructing a good argument, so that my writing would be taking seriously.  Also, all three will help me identify a weaker argument.  Once I can recognize the modes of persuasion, they would help me relate to whatever audience I was writing to.  Having logos, pathos, and ethos in my arsenal of writing would put me head and shoulders over other writers.