Argument Blog

The three important parts of a good argument are Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Ethos is trying to persuade someone by using someone the audience would trust the opinion of, like in the toothpaste commercials where they say 4 out of 5 dentists recommend this brand of toothpaste. Pathos is the attempt to get people to agree with you by getting them to feel a positive emotion with what you are stating, beer commercials use this the most often showing the product in a comedic situation so as to make it seem fun or enjoyable. Logos is in my opinion the most ethical approach as it uses logic to persuade the audience. Give reasons for listening to what i have to say, not just listen because i am authoritative or funny. Car commercials do this most often when they list off a bunch of things that the car advertised has, be it gas mileage, price, or something you probably don’t really need but would be nice to have like heated seats. When writing an argument since you usually aren’t an expert in the field of topic in order to sound authoritative you should quote someone that is, and use their arguments for your cause. Its important to sound authoritative as if you want people to trust you, you need to sound like you know what you are talking about with in depth knowledge of both sides of the argument. Some good strategies when appealing to emotion are to find a group of people and appeal to the emotions of that group. If you are marketing a movie to rebellious teenagers you may want to show scenes of intense action and violence, or if you were marketing to children you would want to make whatever you are advertising look warm and cuddly so the child could feel close to it, as in something like Barney. If you concentrate too heavily on emotion it is possible that you will distract from what is being advertised and while your commercial will be remembered your product will not, i remember a commercial in which someone was cooking in the kitchen when a cat knocked over some spaghetti sauce and became covered, (the cat was white), and so the guy picked up the cat and had a knife in his other hand since he was cooking, when someone walked in on him looking like a cat killer. I dont remember what was being advertised in the commercial even though i remember it very well. You can use logos to support a claim by showing how the claim can be related to the every day life of someone, like when talking about global warming the scientists tell of how the melting ice caps will cause the oceans to rise and flood areas like florida, and when your home is in danger of flooding you are far more likely to heed the advice of the scientist. Logos is very important to an argument, because if someone can not find reason to believe what is being stated than they will certainly be far less likely to accept the claim. Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are not at all separate from each other, when using logic people become emotionally involved, and a lot of times when using pathos a figure is being used that the audience is emotionally involved with, like when using a professional athlete to advertise food, being professional he can probably eat whatever he wants and chooses that, while at the same time hes a hero so it makes you feel more like the hero when eating what the athlete eats.