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Directions (Q. 61-65) : Read the following passage and answer the questions based on it.
Persuasion is the art of convincing someone to agree with your point of view. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, there are three basic tools of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos.
Ethos is a speaker’s way of convincing the audience that he is a credible source. The audience will consider a speaker credible if he seems trustworthy, reliable, and sincere. This can be done in many ways. For example, a speaker can develop ethos by explaining how much experience or education he has in the field. After all, you would be more likely to listen to advice about how to take care of your teeth from a dentist than a fire fighter. Pathos is a speaker’s way of connecting with an audience’s emotions. For example, a speaker who is trying to convince an audience to vote for him might say that he alone can save the country from a terrible war. These words are intended to fill the audience with fear, thus making them want to vote for him. Similarly, a charity organization that helps animals might show an audience pictures of injured dogs and cats. These images are intended to fill the viewers with pity.
Logos is the use of facts, information, statistics, or other evidence to make your argument more convincing. An audience will be more likely to believe you if you have date to back up your claims. For example, a commercial for soap might tell you that laboratory tests have shown that their soap kills all 7,000,000 of the bacteria living on your hands right now. This piece of information might make you more likely to buy their brand of soap. Use of logos can also increase a speaker’s ethos; the more facts a speaker includes in his argument, the more likely you are to think that he is educated and trustworthy.
Although ethos, pathos, and logos all have their strengths, they are often most effective when they are used together, Indeed, most speakers use a combination of ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade their audiences.
Persuasion is the art of convincing someone to agree with your point of view. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, there are three basic tools of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos.
Ethos is a speaker’s way of convincing the audience that he is a credible source. The audience will consider a speaker credible if he seems trustworthy, reliable, and sincere. This can be done in many ways. For example, a speaker can develop ethos by explaining how much experience or education he has in the field. After all, you would be more likely to listen to advice about how to take care of your teeth from a dentist than a fire fighter. Pathos is a speaker’s way of connecting with an audience’s emotions. For example, a speaker who is trying to convince an audience to vote for him might say that he alone can save the country from a terrible war. These words are intended to fill the audience with fear, thus making them want to vote for him. Similarly, a charity organization that helps animals might show an audience pictures of injured dogs and cats. These images are intended to fill the viewers with pity.
Logos is the use of facts, information, statistics, or other evidence to make your argument more convincing. An audience will be more likely to believe you if you have date to back up your claims. For example, a commercial for soap might tell you that laboratory tests have shown that their soap kills all 7,000,000 of the bacteria living on your hands right now. This piece of information might make you more likely to buy their brand of soap. Use of logos can also increase a speaker’s ethos; the more facts a speaker includes in his argument, the more likely you are to think that he is educated and trustworthy.
Although ethos, pathos, and logos all have their strengths, they are often most effective when they are used together, Indeed, most speakers use a combination of ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade their audiences.
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