Writing about Logos

When you notice an appeal in a passage, ask yourself which choice or choices create that appeal. What is the writer/speaker doing to appeal to logic, emotion, or credibility?

Logos: An Appeal to Logic or Reason

Choices That Create a Logical Appeal:

• Facts or statistics

• Comparisons

• Examples

• Conditional sentences (If/then statements)

• Deductive reasoning

• Inductive reasoning

• Syllogisms

• Counterclaims and rebuttals or concessions and refutations

Questions to Ask Yourself:

• Which choice is creating the appeal?

•How does the choice help the writer/speaker make a logical argument?

What evidence best demonstrates this choice?

• At what point in the passage does the speaker/writer make this choice? How does the order/structure help make the argument more logical? use of precise language and strong verbs is essential.

Avoid “uses logos”. Try one of these instead:

• SPEAKER appeals to logic by

• SPEAKER logically asserts.

• Having noted that…SPEAKER logically concludes/deduces that...

• By including the example of X, SPEAKER logically builds his/her argument that..

• By including facts/stats, such as...., SPEAKER logically develops his/her argument that...

EXAMPLE

Observations - What is the speaker doing?

Florence Kelley begins her argument by citing facts about child labor. She also provides examples of unjust labor laws in multiple states.

Facts and examples build strong arguement

Best evidence:

In the US, two million under the age of children are working.

Children under the age of 16 cannot work more than 8 hours per night = "good law"

Laws from Alabama, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania

Why does Kelley include these facts?

Logos must prove problem

She identifies/ informs the audience of an urgent problem: child labor

Why does Kelley include these examples?

The examples support her claim about child labor and prove it is not just an urgent problem but also widespread.

Why does she make these choices at the beginning of her speech?

To construct a logical argument and convince the audience to join her cause, she must first identify the problem then prove it is a major issue. If she does not do this, the audience will not be convinced to help.