If I Can Show You How To Answer Correctly Any Question On Persuasion For The Cset English Exam Would

People have been attempting to persuade each other for the longest time. Possibly one of the greatest articulate early debaters was the Greek scholar Aristotle. His ideas are as pertinent in the present as they were when he was teaching at the Lyceum around 310 B.C.

Persuasion is the routine of persuading. It is the power to dissuade using the spoken or written word. Persuasion is a type of social control. It is the cognitive process of leading people toward the adoption of an attitude, idea, or action by intellectual and symbolic (though not always logical) means. It is a scheme of cognitive psychology founded on "appeals" rather than force.

Persuasion is conveyed through forms of persuasive appeals:

Logos = The appeal to reason or the intellect.
Pathos = The appeal to emotion or the heart.
Ethos = The persuasive appeal of one's character or notoriety.

We will analyze each of these appeals separately, but know that these three appeals work together in combination toward persuasive ends.

Aristotle calls these "intrinsic" or "artistic" proofsthose that are found by way of the art of rhetoricin contrast to "extrinsic" or "nonartistic" proofs such as attestants or legal instruments that are merely used by the speaker, not found through rhetoric.

Logos

Aristotle hoped that all communication taking place could be done only through this appeal, but given the short comings of humanity, he laments, we need to resort to the use of the other two appeals. The Greek word logos is defined as "reason".

Example of Logos

"My ex-wife is a materialistic person, as well as a killer and drug user. She was driving a SUV while intoxicated and had an accident which killed my only daughter Jenny."

Pathos

Aristotle devotes a substantial amount of discourse on altering the emotions, and labeling the sorts of replies of different demographic groupings. Thus, we can observe the tight-fitting dealings betwixt assessment of pathos and of audience. Pathos, as well, is the construct by which we understand the psychological facets of rhetoric. The Greek word pathos is defined as "emotion". Criticisms of rhetoric tend to focalize on the overstressing of pathos, feelings, at the sacrifice of logos, the message.

Example of Pathos

"Jenny lived with me, her father, about half of the time, ever since she was 9 months old. While Jenny was in my care, I had the role of father and mother. Along with being a single dad, comes a tremendous amount of duty. It was a duty I certainly liked. I cooked for her, washed her clothes and took care of Jenny when she was not feeling well. When Jenny got the chicken pox, I got the chicken pox. All of my life was devoted to Jenny. It was the greatest time of my life. Never did I ever have to scold Jenny, disciplining only with love and patience. At the time of my divorce, my former wife's income was $150,000.00 + a year. I was just above the poverty level. I even signed away the home to my former wife in divorce, which had $210,000.00 of equity in it. All I wanted was Jenny. All my former wife cared about was money. In 1998, when I was going through an extremely difficult time financially, my former wife offered to help me out financially. She offered to buy my parental rights for $12,000.00. Even though I was facing eviction for non-payment of rent, I told her that my daughter was not for sale at any price. For 8 years, my former wife tried to take Jenny away from me. She finally did. On March 22nd, 2004 Jenny's mother was driving her to school. She was driving in excess of 55 mph in a 15 mph speed zone, around a turn, on a wet street, near an elementary school, with no seatbelt on my daughter. Jenny was ejected through the glass windshield of the SUV being driven by her mother. The vehicle then rolled over my daughter. With two collapsed lungs, my daughter got up, took a several steps gasping for air, and collapsed. My former wife never even walked over to Jenny after the crash. A witness claimed that my former wife was more interested about her SUV and jewelry than her own daughter. Jenny was taken to the hospital, hooked up to what looked like 100 tubes and a brain monitor. I sat on the cold floor in the waiting area for two weeks. Jenny's heart stopped beating at 8:22 p.m. on April 5th, 2004 at the age of 7 1/2 years old. My former wife tested positive for cocaine, hydrocodone and other drugs."

Ethos

Ethos names the persuasive appeal of one's notoriety, particularly how this character is established by way of the speech or discourse. Aristotle stated that someone must try to look both knowledgeable about one's topic and gracious. Cicero believed that in oratory the beginning component of a speech (its exordium or introduction) was the place to show one's credibility with the audience.

Example of Ethos

"My Dear Fellow Clergymen:

While confined here in Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely."...Since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable in terms.

I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in."...I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here.

But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid." - Martin Luther King, Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

This article is an excerpt from ACE the CSET English study guide and online course. In the course, we study specific examples of logos, pathos, and ethos, and we analyze all forms of persuasion such as a bandwagon, red herring, straw man, shifting the burden of proof, and many more. The CSET English course has interactive chronology, fill-in, and matching exercises that make it possible for you to rapidly memorize the information you need to pass the rhetoric and media persuasion sections of the CSET English test.

If you're looking for a big publishing company that sells dozens of instant downloadable test preparation pdfs or ebook study guides with which to pass your CSET examination, we're not for you.

But if you're looking for an affordable interactive software program or an online CSET class from a small company that specializes exclusively in the California curriculum as applied to the CSET exam, I encourage you to check out our Web site.