Elements of an Argument

Rhetorical Triangle

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messagelogos

The Appeals

• pathos – emotional appeal; stirs strong feelings within the audience

• logos – logical appeal; constructs a message of a well-reasoned argument

• ethos – ethical appeal; establishes credibility and authority of speaker

How do I identify pathos?

• Connotative diction• Diction• Imagery• Figurative language (metaphor,

personification, hyperbole, etc. )• Carefully-crafted syntax (sentence

structure)• Personal anecdotes (experiences or

stories)

How do I identify logos?

• Facts• Statistics• Research• Referring to experts• Cause & effect

How do I identify ethos?

• Stating qualifications for expertise• Using first person plural pronouns (“we”)• Citing relevant authorities • Citing relevant allusions

More parts to the construction of an

argument…

• Call to action – the action the speaker or writer is persuading the audience or reader to take

• Claim – debatable controversial statement the speaker or writer intends to prove with evidence

• Commentary – connecting the evidence to the claim (How does evidence support claim?)

• Concession – respectful acknowledgement of opposing viewpoint

• Hook – the beginning of a persuasive essay meant to capture the reader’s attention (quote, profound statement, imagery, etc.)

• Evidence – support for writer’s claim (examples, anecdotes, facts, statistics, research, etc.)

• Thesis – a sentence that expresses the writer’s position on a certain topic

• Qualifier – puts limits on a claim (usually, sometimes, in most cases, etc.)

Constructing an Argument

1. Introductiona. Hookb. Thesis

2. Body Paragraph 1a. Claimb. Evidencec. Commentary

3. Body Paragraph 2a. Claimb. Evidencec. Commentary

4. Body Paragraph 3a. Claimb. Evidencec. Commentary

5. Conclusiona. Refutation – (slight CONCESSION)b. Make it memorable (CALL TO ACTION)

Terms of Concessions

• I concede that…; however, …• Yes, but… • I recognize that …, but I must point out

that… • While I agree that…, we must remember

that… • Although I understand that…, I still believe

that…