Explain the three types of appeals that may be used in an argument. Also include when each appeal should be used in an argument.

The three appeals we use in arguments are the appeals to
ethos, pathos, and logos. All three
are ways we attempt to convince our audience to listen to us and believe our argument,
and all three work together all the time. Some arguments, though draw on one or two
appeals more heavily than the others.

When we appeal to the
ethos of our audience, we appeal to their
identity: their values, morals, past experience, and sense
of community and history. We also attempt to build our own identity as one that our
audience will believe is reliable and credible. For instance, if a candidate for mayor
argues, "You should elect me mayor because I will work for the good of our helpless
school children," she appeals to the ethos of a community who value their children. That
argument also identifies the speaker as someone who shares those values, making that
speaker more trustworthy and believable to that
audience.

When we appeal to the
pathos of our audience, we draw on their
emotions by using expressive language and/or emotional
anecdotes and examples. For instance, the same candidate mentioned above might say, "I
grew up in a shack and had to work every day of my life to get where I am. Vote for me
because I'm a hard worker." By telling that anecdote, the candidate makes the audience
feel sorry for her, and that emotion can make the argument more believable because the
audience feels sorry for her.

When we appeal to the
logos of our audience, we appeal to their desire for
logic. Appeals to logos include citing facts, figures,
statistics, and studies. Such arguments are convincing to an audience because they are
rooted in cold hard data. An example of an appeal to logos might be, "You should vote
for me because crime has dropped 15% each year since I've been in office." Who can argue
with that? (Note that this argument also appeals to ethos and
pathos--)

To decide which appeal is right for your
audience, you must know who your audience is. Every person reacts differently to
different appeals; some people are easily swayed by sob stories (pathos), some want to
know the facts only (logos), and others want to know why they should trust you (ethos).
You wouldn't, for example, try to convince a scientist to give you a job by singing an
expressive song, though that tactic might work if you wanted to convince your girlfriend
to get back together with you.