Rhetoric: ethos, pathos and logos

Ages 13 to 17 Read alone · about 35 minutes

Read together

Aristotle described three ways speakers persuade: ethos (character and trust), pathos (emotion) and logos (reason).

Learning to spot them helps you judge arguments fairly and speak well yourself.

Do it

1. Take a speech, advert or sermon passage. Highlight lines in three colours for ethos, pathos and logos.
2. Which appeal is strongest? Is any used unfairly?
3. Write a short speech on a cause you care about, using all three honestly.
4. Deliver it to a family member and ask what persuaded them.

Talk about it

• Which appeal convinces you most, and why?
• When does emotion become manipulation?

For the grown-up

Rhetoric is a tool, neither good nor bad. Paul often reasons and appeals in his letters. Encourage honest persuasion, and help teens notice manipulation in ads and online.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• Aristotle, Rhetoric, Book I, chapters 2 (translations by W. Rhys Roberts or G. A. Kennedy)
• Kennedy, G. A., Classical Rhetoric and Its Christian and Secular Tradition from Ancient to Modern Times (University of North Carolina Press, 1999)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.