Grade 9 · Rhetoric and Synthesis · Rhetorical Analysis
Rhetorical Analysis: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Identify appeals in a speech.
Learning objectives
- Identify appeals in a speech
- Analyse how a device serves purpose
- Evaluate the argument's effectiveness
AERO English Language Arts alignment
AERO.ELA.9.RI.6
Determine an author's purpose and point of view, and analyse how the author acknowledges or responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints. Grade 9 / MYP 4 emphasis: sustain analysis across complex texts, integrate several sources and control academic register.
AERO.ELA.9.RI.8
Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims supported by sound reasoning and relevant evidence from those that are not. Grade 9 / MYP 4 emphasis: sustain analysis across complex texts, integrate several sources and control academic register.
AERO.ELA.9.RI.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what an informational text states explicitly and of inferences drawn from it. Grade 9 / MYP 4 emphasis: sustain analysis across complex texts, integrate several sources and control academic register.
AERO.ELA.9.RI.2
Determine a central idea of an informational text and analyse its development across the text; provide an objective summary. Grade 9 / MYP 4 emphasis: sustain analysis across complex texts, integrate several sources and control academic register.
AERO.ELA.9.RI.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as used in an informational text, including technical, connotative and figurative meanings. Grade 9 / MYP 4 emphasis: sustain analysis across complex texts, integrate several sources and control academic register.
MYP criteria
- Criterion A — Analysing
- Criterion B — Organizing
ENGAGE
What Makes a Message Persuasive?
Imagine that a student asks your school to reduce unnecessary water use. The speaker could present measurements, describe the value of water in a desert climate or explain their experience on an environmental council. Each choice may influence the audience differently. In this lesson, you will identify ethos, pathos and logos, but you will also go further. You will analyse how particular words and devices support the speaker’s purpose, address another viewpoint and strengthen or weaken the overall argument.
Think about it
- Which persuades you more: reliable evidence or an emotional image?
- How can a speaker earn an audience’s trust?
EXPLORE
Close Reading: Every Drop Matters
Original student council speech
Members of our school community, I speak today as a member of the student environmental council and as someone who has helped measure our campus water use for six weeks. Our shared goal is simple: protect Qatar’s limited freshwater resources by reducing unnecessary use at school. If each of us makes one careful choice, our combined effort can matter.
During our survey, we found that taps left running while hands were being soaped wasted about 240 litres in one school day. The figure came from timed observations at twelve sinks, so it does not represent every day; however, it reveals a preventable pattern. Turning off a tap for even twenty seconds is a small action supported by clear evidence.
Some students argue that reminders will be annoying and that water use at one school is too small to influence a national challenge. That concern deserves an answer. One poster will not transform a country, but habits learned by hundreds of students travel into homes and future workplaces. Picture the desert after rain, when every drop helps life return. Shall we allow carelessness to become our habit, or shall we make responsibility visible? I ask the school to introduce tap reminders and publish monthly water-use results.
Think about it
- What action does the speaker want the school to take?
- Where do you see ethos, pathos and logos in the speech?
- How does the speaker acknowledge and respond to an opposing viewpoint?
EXPLAIN
From Identifying Appeals to Analysing Effects
Rhetorical analysis examines how a writer or speaker uses language, evidence and structure to influence an audience. Begin by identifying the speaker, audience, context and purpose. Here, a student council member addresses the school community to encourage water-saving reminders and public reporting of results.
| Appeal | Main focus | Example from the speech | Possible effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethos | Trust and credibility | The speaker helped measure water use for six weeks. | The audience may view the speaker as informed and responsible. |
| Pathos | Emotions and values | The audience pictures the desert returning to life after rain. | The image may create appreciation for each drop of water. |
| Logos | Reasoning and evidence | Timed observations at twelve sinks produced a daily estimate. | The evidence gives a logical basis for changing behaviour. |
Do not stop at naming
Writing that a speaker 'uses pathos' is identification, not analysis. Explain which words create the appeal, how the audience may respond and why that response supports the purpose.
A rhetorical device is a deliberate language choice, while an appeal is a broader persuasive strategy. For example, the question beginning “Shall we” is a rhetorical question and uses parallel structure. It encourages the audience to compare two possible habits. This device supports pathos by attaching responsibility to the preferred choice, but it also clarifies the speaker’s reasoning.
Strong arguments acknowledge complexity. The speaker admits that observations from twelve sinks cannot represent every day. This qualification limits the claim rather than exaggerating it, strengthening ethos. The speaker also responds to students who believe one school cannot influence a national challenge. The response argues that school habits can spread into homes and workplaces.
An appeal is not automatically effective
Evaluate the quality of the evidence and reasoning. The measured figure is relevant, but it comes from a limited survey. Monthly results would provide stronger evidence about whether reminders actually reduce water use.
- Make a focused claim about the speaker’s choice.
- Select a precise quotation or detail as evidence.
- Explain how the choice may affect this particular audience.
- Connect that effect to the speaker’s purpose.
- Evaluate a strength, limitation or unanswered question.
MYP_PRACTICE
Write a Focused Rhetorical Analysis
Write one organised analytical paragraph evaluating how the speaker uses one appeal and one rhetorical device. Your paragraph should trace the connection between evidence, audience and purpose. It should also judge effectiveness rather than simply stating that the technique is persuasive.
- Choose ethos, pathos or logos and locate the strongest supporting detail.
- Identify a connected device, such as imagery, statistics, qualification or rhetorical questioning.
- Make a topic sentence that links the choices to the speaker’s purpose.
- Explain the likely effect on the school audience and evaluate one strength or limitation.
- Review your paragraph for logical order, precise evidence and formal academic language.
EXIT_TICKET
Before you close this lesson
Think about it
- Which appeal is most effective in the speech, and what makes it effective for this audience?
- What additional evidence would help you evaluate the speaker’s proposal more confidently?
Watch
How to Argue - Philosophical Reasoning: Crash Course Philosophy #2
CrashCourse · 10 min
Learn how premises, conclusions, validity, and sound reasoning form a strong argument.
Before you watch: How is a reasoned argument different from a quarrel?
- What roles do premises and conclusions play in an argument?
- How can you test whether a conclusion follows logically from its premises?
Watch
What Aristotle and Joshua Bell can teach us about persuasion - Conor Neill
TED-Ed · 5 min
Explore how Aristotle's ideas and a real-world performance demonstrate the importance of persuasive context and appeal.
Before you watch: What makes an audience accept a speaker's message?
- Which persuasive appeal from the video seemed most effective?
- How can context change an audience's response to the same message?
Interactive practice · rhetorical analysis paragraph
Appeal, Device and Effect
Use the extract to write a 120–160 word rhetorical analysis paragraph. Analyse one appeal and one connected device, explain their effects on the school audience and evaluate how effectively they support the speaker’s purpose.
Check your answer
Task
Your paragraph should analyse rather than retell the speech.
Sentence frames
Prompts
Your answer
This draft stays in this tab only. Copy anything you want to keep into your learning log below.
Key vocabulary
- ethos
- An appeal based on the speaker’s credibility, knowledge or character.
- pathos
- An appeal to the audience’s emotions, values or imagination.
- logos
- An appeal based on evidence, facts and logical reasoning.
- counterargument
- A viewpoint or claim that challenges the writer’s main argument.
Practice questions
0/3 correct
Level 1 · Criterion A
Which detail most directly establishes the speaker’s ethos?
Level 2 · Criterion A
Why does the speaker admit that the observations do not represent every school day?
Level 2 · Criterion B
Which order would produce the clearest rhetorical analysis paragraph?
MYP criterion tasks
Level 3 · Criterion A
Analyse how the desert imagery serves the speaker’s purpose. Include the intended audience in your answer.
Level 3 · Criterion B
Write a two-sentence evaluation of the argument. Organise your response by stating one strength followed by one limitation.
Reflect & track
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