August 24th 2010

Our class got to know each other with a few fun ice-breakers.  We quickly learned that Professor McArdle is not a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks or the Twilight series, which was not a shocker.  Most of our class loves comedies;  The Hangover and other funny films with actors such as Jim Carrey are evidently well respected.  After talking for a while and getting to know one another, Professor McArdle introduced the terms: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.  (All of which are strategies that an be used in persuasive writing).

Ethos = We have a tendency to trust the opinions of those who we respect.

If Taylor Swift drinks milk, then all of
us should drink milk too, right?

Pathos = As humans, our emotions affect the way we act.  Advertisers know that and they create ads that will make us feel certain ways so that we will act upon those emotions.

Wouldn't you want to donate money
to help this pre-mature baby?

Logos = In rhetorical arguments, this strategy is built upon logic and reasoning.

Everybody wants to kill germs, right?
Well these handy wipes kill 99.9% of germs!
Or so they say.
1. People hate germs & they want something that
can take care of unwanted germs.
2. Lysol offers just what they are looking for,
so they buy it.