Think of a time when you tried to persuade someone to agree with you, change their mind, or do something you wanted. What were you trying to persuade them to do or believe? How did you use ethos, pathos, or logos to persuade them? Which appeal was most effective and why?

Prompt Response: One time in my APUSH class, me and my classmates were having a debate over which foods would fit into the category of a sandwich, salad, or a soup. During the debate, me and my friend were debating over whether pasta would fit into the category of a soup or a salad. I was attempting to persuade my friend that of all 3 of the categories we were given, pasta should go into the category of salad. I used logos in my attempt to persuade my friend, as I explained that pasta cannot be a sandwich, as it does not have the formation of a sandwich, however it can also not be a soup as the ratio of sauce compared to the pasta noodles would have to be much higher. I would say that in my case using logos was the most effective way to appeal to my friend, as it would have been difficult for me to attempt to appeal to them through ethos or pathos.

Summary and Reflection: In class on August 11th, we practiced identifying whether a certain argument was using ethos, pathos, or logos to appeal to its audience. I learned how to figure out which appeal an author was using to capture its audience by looking at various arguments and deciding which category of appeal they would fit into. The information that we went over is very important as I can utilize it in the future when I am constructing an argument and attempting to appeal to my audience, and it can also be useful in other real-life situations as well.