Anger
When writers appeal to anger, they frame an issue in a way that angers an audience and then use that anger to reinforce their claim. Usually, this means telling the audience something that they did not previously know and that, once known, elicits anger.
Most people are moved to a sense of anger by injustice, unfairness, and cruelty. Exposing unfairness can be an effective way to appeal to this sense of anger. Consider, for example, the following argument:
Shopping at Cheap Stuff is immoral. In order to keep their prices low, they pay subminimum wages with no benefits, and they subject their employees to dangerous working conditions. They have been cited more times than any other corporation for unfair labor practices, and twelve employees during the past year have been killed on the job in unnecessary accidents. The money I save just isn't worth supporting this corporation.
Belonging
Many successful arguments appeal to people's desire to be part of something larger than themselves. An obvious example of this kind of appeal is the appeal to patriotism, or the sense of belonging to a nation. People are often willing to risk their lives for what they believe to be their duty to their country. Appeals to belonging also connect claims to other groups: religious organizations, states, cities, schools, labor unions, fraternities, and so on.
Successful appeals to belonging create a sense in the reader of being part of a larger group. This approach can be very similar to the fallacy of bandwagoning (p. 661). The difference is that an effective appeal does not offer itself as proof of a claim; it simply frames the argument in a way that creates a sense of belonging in the reader. Consider the following argument against censorship:
The current efforts to censor language and content in popular music and television programs are fundamentally un-American. This nation was founded on ideas of freedom of speech and expression that were considered heretical in Europe but which became the fabric of the Constitution of the United States of America. This principle was enshrined in the First Amendment and is the reason that America has remained a strong country for two hundred years. Those who censor our entertainers destroy part of what makes America a great nation.
The writer here is making an argument by appealing to the larger concept of "America" to which (we assume) the audience belongs. The appeal is grounded in the audience's desire to be part of this larger entity and the values that it espouses.
Pride/Vanity
Appeals to pride and vanity sometimes take the form of simple flattery, but they also include appeals to people's desire to be attractive, professional, and well-thought-of by their peers. As you might expect, this kind of appeal is common in advertising for clothing and cosmetics, as well as for alcohol and cars.
ETHOS: THE WRITER'S APPEAL
According to Aristotle, the most powerful element of persuasion is neither logos (logic) nor pathos (emotion), but ethos, which is also the most difficult of the three terms to define. Although the Greek word ethos is the root of our word "ethical," "ethos" does not quite mean "persuasion by appeals to ethics." Rather, it refers to the persuasion through the audience's perception of the speaker. At the heart of Aristotle's notion of ethos is the somewhat circular fact that most people are persuaded by arguments that are made by people that they find persuasive.
A writer's or speaker's ethos, then, is composed of everything that makes an audience consider him or her persuasive. You project a persuasive ethos when you communicate to your audience that you are the sort of person who should be believed: intelligent, well-qualified, and assertive, but also kind, moderate, and sympathetic to their points of view. The ethos of a speaker may include things like tone of voice, level of comfort in speaking, and physical attractiveness. The ethos of a writer may be harder to see, but it is no less important.
Reading someone's writing for the first time is like meeting someone new. We come to the text with certain expectations, which can be met, exceeded, or disappointed. In just a few minutes, we form an impression of the writer that, fair or not, colors the rest of our experience with the work and affects how persuaded we are by its argument. Here are a few things to consider as you work to create a good ethos in your writing:
Establish your credibility
In many kinds of writing, you can appropriately introduce yourself to an audience and explain why you are qualified to give the opinions you are about to give. For example, a very persuasive editorial on the problems faced by single mothers might begin with a paragraph such as this:
Every time I hear some politician talk about the "single mother" problem, I cringe. To them, single motherhood is a problem to be solved; to me, it is a life to be lived. Five years ago, my husband died, leaving me with three daughters—twelve, nine, and four—to raise by myself. We were not rich, and my husband did not have life insurance. Since then, I have always had a job, sometimes two, and have at times paid more than half of my take-home pay in child care. And yes, I have also been on welfare—not because I am lazy or because I want the government to subsidize my "promiscuous lifestyle," but because I had no other way to feed and house my children.
The writer of this piece not only lays the groundwork for an argument about single mothers but also establishes that her own experience has qualified her to give an informed, thoughtful opinion.
Be generous to other points of view
People want to know that you respect them. When you are writing to a general audience—one in which every reader may have a different opinion on a given issue—be careful to avoid dismissing or disrespecting the people you are trying to persuade. Not only are people much more likely to be persuaded by someone who respects them, but writing that exhibits contempt for others often offends even those who share the opinion being expressed. Look at the following two examples and determine which one projects a more persuasive ethos:
There is something rotten in this country: fur. Can you imagine anything more inhumane and immoral than killing an animal just to wear its fur as an expensive coat? The rich women and middle-class posers who participate in the fur trade are probably too dumb to realize that they are wearing the remains of a living creature that was killed just to make their coats fit with this year's fashion trends. If they do know they're contributing
to the deaths of innocent animals, then they're just cruel, violent, trend- followers.
Society has come a long way since the days when people had to wear the skins of mammoths and saber-toothed tigers to keep warm during the cold winters. Now, synthetic materials can keep us much warmer than the skin of any animal. However, each year, forty million animals are killed to produce commercial fur. Many of these animals are still caught in the wild using painful traps. Millions of decent people who would never treat an animal with wanton cruelty unknowingly participate in just such cruelty when they buy coats, gloves, and other items of clothing made with animal fur.