The Rhetorical Triangle:Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
• Aristotle taught that persuasive speaking is based on how well a speaker appeals to audience in three areas: logos, ethos, pathos.
• Logos, ethos, and pathos are methods of persuasion.
• Triangle represents the balanced interaction between logos (text/subject), ethos (speaker/writer), and pathos (audience), which creates effective writing.
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
• Logos:– Appeal to reason– Text of an argument; how well writer argues
his/her point.– Includes: Facts, statistics, surveys and polls,
testimony and narrative; common sense.• Ethos:– Appeal to writer’s character; credibility– Role of the writer in the argument; how
credible his/her argument is; writer’s persona.– Includes admitting limitations, exceptions or
weaknesses; honesty about motives.
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
• Pathos:– Appeal to emotion and sympathetic
imagination, as well as beliefs and values.
– Role of audience in the argument. – Includes humor.
Overlap
• Often a particular aspect of a text will represent more than one appeal.
• Example:– Use of credible sources can be
considered both logos and ethos.– Credible sources support the logic and
reasoning of a text and portray the writer as thoughtful and engaged with the subject.