Rhetorical Appeals & Persuasion

Ethos

The appeal of a text to the credibility and character of the speaker, writer, or narrator.

Pathos

The appeal of a text to the emotions, values, or interests of the audience.

Logos

The appeal of a text based on the logical structure of its argument or central ideas.

Appeal to authority

In a text, the reference to words, action, or beliefs of a person in authority as a means of supporting a claim, generalization, or conclusion.

Refutation

The part of a speech in which the speaker would anticipate objections to the points being raised and counter them.

Anticipated objection

The technique a writer or speaker uses in an argumentative text to address and answer objections, even though the audience has not had the opportunity to voice these objections.

Argument

A carefully constructed, well-supported representation of how a writer sees an issue, problem, or subject.

Claim

The ultimate conclusion, generalization, or point that a syllogism or enthymeme expresses. The point, backed up by support, of an argument.

Evidence

The facts, statistics, anecdotes and examples that a speaker or writer offers in support of a claim, generalization, or conclusion.

Data (as evidence)

Facts, statistics, and examples that a speaker or writer offers in support of a claim, generalization, or conclusion.

Generalization

A point that a speaker or writer generates on the basis of considering a number of particular examples.