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12: "Appealing" Essays

  • Page ID
    199343
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    • 12.1: Introduction
      This page highlights that college students are natural rhetoricians due to their experiences with writing and speaking. It introduces Aristotle's rhetorical triangle—ethos, pathos, and logos—as crucial for effective communication. Students are urged to evaluate their past essays to identify and integrate these rhetorical appeals, emphasizing that doing so can enhance the persuasiveness of their writing.
    • 12.2: Ethos in the Essay
      This page discusses the concept of ethos in academic essays, emphasizing its role in establishing credibility and character. It highlights the need for proper formatting and sourcing credible materials to enhance a writer's authority, criticizing the misconception that any online source is acceptable. The text underscores that proper citation reflects a writer's integrity and advocates for an engaging yet appropriate writing style.
    • 12.3: The "Pathetic" Essay
      This page analyzes the shifting meaning of "pathetic," from a term indicating strong emotion to one signifying inadequacy. This evolution reflects societal views on emotion, emphasizing logic over feelings. Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio highlights the importance of emotion in decision-making and persuasion. The essay argues that successful argumentative writing should integrate emotional appeals like vivid imagery and personal stories to effectively engage the audience.
    • 12.4: Logic in the Lines
      This page outlines that essays are structured arguments with a thesis in the introduction, supporting premises in the body, and a conclusion. Effective essays utilize logical reasoning and coherence, incorporating various forms of reasoning, while Aristotle's principles highlight the significance of blending ethos, logos, and pathos to enhance persuasive writing.
    • 12.5: Works Cited
      This page summarizes significant contributions to the understanding of emotions, focusing on Antonio Damasio's works, particularly "Self Comes to Mind." It references articles from Scientific American and The New York Times Magazine discussing the nature of feelings. The text also notes the adaptation of bullet points from a guide on rhetoric and writing and mentions the Creative Commons licensing for this adapted content.


    This page titled 12: "Appealing" Essays is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Paula Cardwel, Angela Prelip, and Jennifer Graber-Peters (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .