Review on Rhetorical Appeals Blog Post #6

        There are three categories of rhetorical appeal strategies: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. 

Ethos refers to a writer or source's credibility or authority in his field or on the topic being talked about. For instance, Joe is the CEO of Big Music Production and Recording and also has degrees in Music Business and Recording Technology.  If Joe says that the company’s current recording methods are inefficient and too costly, the audience has reason to believe him based on his credibility and authority in his business field.  

Logos appeals to a reader or an audience’s sense of logic and reasoning.  If a writer were to say that music is sound; therefore a bird squawking is music, this would be an example of the use of logos.  Granted, it’s a very ineffective one in my opinion, but an example nonetheless.  

Now on to the third rhetorical strategy:  Pathos.  Pathos appeals to a reader’s emotions.  When an author write something that makes the reader feel an emotion, especially sympathy, he is putting pathos to work.  Politicians and public speakers use pathos often in their speeches to convince the public that they need to participate in something or be on the speaker’s “side” about a certain issue.  They appeal to the public’s sense of camaraderie when they use phrases such as “My fellow Americans. . . ”.  In saying these things, the speakers make the public feel closer together.  They tap into the natural instinct of people to band together. 

Now that you know what each of these strategies mean, take a look at this example of a commercial to sell VHS players that encompasses all three strategies:

Hello America! Vanessa Watch CEO and manager of Vanessa’s Video Emporium here! Do you have old VHS tapes laying around your house just begging to be watched, but have nothing to watch them with?  Did your old VHS player wear out and never got replaced? Did you get rid of it thinking you’d never watch tapes again because of these new DVD things? Or maybe you’re just just looking for a VHS player because you’re totally rad and into “vintage” stuff?  Does it feel like something is missing in your life without the VHS player? Well, if you answered yes to any of these questions, come on down to Vanessa’s Video Emporium and make your life whole again by fulfilling all of your VHS player and tape needs! But if you answered no, lease, people come anyways! Times are tough! Money is tight and this is all I know how to do! There’s no other job out there selling what I do because I am the last in the world! Please, America.. Have a heart!

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