Have you ever tried to convince your parents to buy you a candy bar at the store? Or to let you stay up just a little bit longer? This practice calls for a persuasive argumentative speech. This book will give you the key elements of building a persuasive argument for situations that may arise in your lives by using the ethos, logos, and pathos technique. 

First a brief history of ethos, pathos and logos:

This triple-threat technique dates back to the fourth century and a man named Aristotle. Aristotle studied philosophy, the sciences and literature to name a few. He believed that a speaker can use three basic kinds of appeals to persuade his audience which are, ethos, pathos and logos. Many professionals use these techniques today to sell their goods or enact law. 

(Picture on the right:School of Athens. Aristotle in the center  right. Wearing blue.)

Ethos is the technique in which the speaker convinces the audience by establishing their credibility, research and or status. 

Example: Charles Darwin was a scientist who spent many years observing birds in different parts of the world. He was able to collect enough data on the evolution of birds to relay information to his audience of their differences due to their geography. Charles Darwin showed ethos is his theories by basing his theory on his extensive research. 

How can we convey ethos in our persuasive arguments?

Show your audience how much you care about the topic.

Show your audience what you know about the topic.