Ethos, Pathos In Social Media

In order to convince an audience through an ethical appeal, a writer would use ethos. Ethos places an emphasis on the credibility of the source. In The Jungle Upton Sinclair writes, “In the beginning he had been fresh and strong, and he had gotten a job the first day, but now he was second-hand, a damaged article…” (Sinclair 90). Jurgis, Sinclair’s character, goes from adoring capitalism to despising it. Since he proves to be open-minded, his feelings seem less biased. Once the reader observes the vicious cycle Jurgis endures, it becomes difficult to make an argument against him. In Fast Food Nation Schlosser states, “We are human beings, more than one person told me, but they treat us like animals” (Schlosser 169). Instead of just using a single source, Schlosser uses numerous. The fact that the author is collecting stories from several different people makes the account more believable.

From a few seconds to respond to a friend’s text, countless hours spent gramming, snapchatting, tweeting, posting on Facebook, pinning on Pinterest, and many other forms of social media, teenagers today are non-stop connected to their phones, laptops, tablets, computers, etc., creating or strengthening social bonds. Your social identity is very important today, and the mount of friends you have on facebook, or amount of retweets or likes you get are a sign of your social superiority. This paper aims to evaluate Melissa Healy’s use of rhetorical strategies, such as ethos, pathos, and logos, in “Teenage social media butterflies may not be such a bad idea.” Healy uses rhetorical appeals effectively in her causal argument about adolescents and social relationships teenagers have that deal in result to social media.

Ethos is an appeal to ethics, which gives the author credibility to persuade their attended audience. For instance, both Lukianoff and Haidt give a little insight about who they are, “Greg Lukianoff is a constitutional lawyer and the president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which defends free speech and academic freedom on campus, and has advocated for students and faculty involved in many of the incidents this article describes; Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who studies the American culture wars.” (Lukianoff and Haidt). Using this rhetorical strategy to start their argument off was a strong approach to persuading their attended audience because it provides credibility to the readers to prove to them that the authors know what they’re talking about and it makes the argument much more effective. Another example of ethos that the authors provide is, “Today, what we call the Socratic method is a way of teaching that fosters critical thinking, in part by encouraging students to question their own unexamined beliefs, as well as the received wisdom of those around them… But vindictive protectiveness teaches students to think in a very different way… A campus culture devoted to policing speech and punishing speakers is likely to engender patterns of thought that are surprisingly similar to those long identified by cognitive behavioral therapists as causes

On May 12, 1962, General Douglas MacArthur addressed the cadets at the West Point Military Academy in his speech Duty, Honor, Country, during the reception for the Sylvanus Thayer Award. This award is given to an “…outstanding citizen of the United States whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion to the ideals expressed in the West Point motto, duty, honor, country.” As the one receiving this prestigious award, General MacArthur truly exemplified these values as he had acquired the rank of General of the Armed Forces while serving in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Within the speech Duty, Honor, Country, MacArthur utilizes logos, pathos, and ethos in order to appeal to the cadets

Ethos is the credibility, moral character, and experience of the speaker. In Mary Fisher’s speech she uses ethos to show her involvement and passion for AIDS. Mary Fisher was infected with the AIDS virus and her son contracted the virus at birth. In telling the viewers this she illustrated why she is so passionate about the cause. Another way she builds ethos is through her moral character. She does this by telling the audience she is concerned with the future of all

Ethos is to convince someone of character or credibility of the persuader. It puts author

Ethos is a persuasive language that is an appeal to authority and credibility. President Richard Nixon uses ethos in “The Great Silent Majority” speech when he says “As president, I hold the responsibility for choosing the best path to that goal and leading the Nation along it”(Nixon). President Nixon is saying that by him being President, it is his job to put the whole nation on a good path. This fits the definition of ethos because when people hear Nixon say “As President,” they immediately feel a sense of credibility of what he is going to say. By President Nixon saying this makes the speech more

Ethos is known as credibility or ethical appeal. Ethos refers to the speakers’ character, as it would appeal to the audience. We tend to believe a person who we see as a credible

According to the Pew Research Center, “41% of social media-users have experienced at least one negative outcome as a result of using a social networking site.” In this article, Norton uses logos, pathos, and ethos to explain his standpoint to his audience. Logos are used when Norton brings up the legal issues of social media such as privacy concerns. Bringing the reader into Norton’s own personal experiences of abuse and name-calling uses pathos. Finally, ethos are used indirectly in the article due to the fact that Norton is a writer and has experience with social networking and the negative impact it can have. Norton uses logos, pathos, and ethos by establishing evidence and logical points in his article to persuade his audience against using social networking.

According to How Writing Works the definition of the term “ethos” is, “the credibility of the writer.” Ethos can work in two ways, you can possess it, or you can earn it. Nansook Park earned her PhD in psychology and is a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, so her work it’s a given that she has experience in the field. From reading the whole excerpt it seems as though the target audience is the everyday American citizen. Park’s tone is more relaxed and sympathetic, which makes her and her arguments more relatable.

According to Alan G. Gross and Arthur E. Walzer, ethos is a type of ethical appeal establishing the speaker’s credibility or character and expertise as persuasive techniques (…). Throughout, Evicted Matthew Desmond employs ethos to gain and reinforce his knowledge and expertise on the subject, to prove his reliability as a

Ethos is a rhetorical appeal that Eighner establishes automatically and through the text as well. Eighner is a well known writer, his work has appeared in the Washington Post, The New York Times Review, and many others. He was a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, his educated mind is displayed through his diction. He uses the word like corrupted, obscure, frankness, and niche. Obviously these are words your average “street rat” would not use. This deems Eighner credibility because he is an educated personnel. Eighner’s

ethos is used to persuade the reader that the character has an ethical appeal. On chunk 2 “My

Ethos is when the author uses the reputation, credibility, experience, and values of the author or an expert as a means of persuasion. Moore himself is a renowned documentary maker and he ensures that his film is factually true. However, at times he manipulates facts and other people to suit his needs. For example, in the beginning of the film he is seen opening an account at a bank where customers that open an account receive a free gun. Moore himself

How to Speak How to Listen by Mortimer Adler discusses the best techniques to use while in an argument. According to Adler, ethos signifies one’s character. Ethos is present when one is trying to have a character that is fitting for the purpose at hand. Ethos includes making yourself attractive to the audience and proving to them that you are credible. An example of having ethos has a lot to do with how I would present myself to the audience. In order for them to believe that I am credible, I must look the part, that includes cleanliness, looking put together, and healthy. If the audience sees that you can take care of yourself, then they have a higher chance of believing that you can take care of them and their situation. Using ethos can also include presenting the audience with a personal story. This will fill them in with background information about myself and let them know how my character played out during whatever situation I spoke about. The situation would have to be similar to the one the audience is facing, in order for them to draw parallels and better understand how I would handle that particular event.