PERSUASIVE

SPEECH
LOGOS, ETHOS, PATHOS,
AND RHETORICAL
DEVICES
LOGOS: MEANING: Logos is a Greek word meaning ‘a word’ or
‘reason’. In rhetoric, it is an appeal to logic or reason. It is
used to persuade the audience by logical thought, fact, and
rationality.
EXAMPLE (S):
1. “The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half
in ten years only gives us a 50% chance of staying
below 1.5 degrees.
2. “The eyes of all future generations are upon you.
And if you choose to fail us, then I say we will never
forgive you”.
3. “You say you hear us and that you understand the
urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do
not want to believe that. Because if you really
understood the situation, then you would be evil. And
that I refuse to believe.
 1. “The popular idea of cutting our emissions in
half in ten years only gives us a 50% chance of
staying below 1.5 degrees. This statement is
effective because it provides specific facts and
statistics to support Greta Thunberg’s claim that
the current efforts to combat climate change are
insufficient.

2. “The eyes of all future generations are upon you.

And if you choose to fail us, then I say we will

EXPLANAT never forgive you”. This statement is effective

because it appeals to the audience’s sense of
responsibility and morality. By saying that future

ION:
generations will never forgive the current leaders if
they fail to act, Greta Thunberg is using Logos to
make a logical argument that the audience should
take action to prevent future suffering.
3. “. “You say you hear us and that you understand
the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I
am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you
really understood the situation, then you would be
evil. And that I refuse to believe. This statement is
effective because it uses logic to make a moral
argument. By saying that if the leaders truly
understood the situation and still failed to act, they
would be evil, Greta Thunberg is making a logical
argument that the audience should take action to
prevent future suffering.
ETHOS:
1. “To have a 67%
chance of staying below
1.5 degrees Celsius
global temperature rise -
MEANING: Ethos is a
best odds given by the
Greek word meaning
Intergovernmental Panel
‘character’. In terms of
EXAMPLE (S): on Climate Change
persuasive language, it is
(IPCC), the world had
an appeal to authority
420 gigatons of CO2 left
and credibility.
to emit back on Jan 1st,
2018. Today that figure
is already down to less
than 350 gigatons.
 EXPLANATION:
1. “To have a 67% chance of staying below 1.5 degrees
Celsius global temperature rise - best odds given by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the
world had 420 gigatons of CO2 left to emit back on Jan
1st, 2018. Today that figure is already down to less than
350 gigatons”. The reference to the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change is an example of Ethos because
it is a credible source that provides scientific information
about climate change. By referring to this organization,
Greta Thunberg is using Ethos to establish her credibility
and authority on the topic of climate change.
 MEANING: Pathos is a Greek word meaning
‘suffering’ or ‘experience’, and it is used in persuasive
speech as an appeal to the emotions of the audience.
EXAMPLE (S):
1.“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with
your empty words. And yet I am one of the lucky ones.
People are suffering. People are dying. Entire
ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a
mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money
and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare
you!
2. “For more than 30 years, the science has been
crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and
come here saying that you’re doing enough when the
politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in
sight”.
3. “You say you hear us and that you understand the
urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do
not want to believe that. Because if you really

PATHOS:
understood the situation, then you would be evil. And
that I refuse to believe. This statement is effective
because it uses logic to make a moral argument.
1. “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of
the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We
are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and the fairy
tales of economic growth. How dare you!”. This statement is effective because it uses
emotional language to convey the severity of the situation and to blame the older generation’s
2. “For more than
representatives for30 years,
their thecurrent
kid’s scienceand
hasfuture
been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look
sufferings.
away and come here saying that you are doing enough when the politics and solutions are still
nowhere in sight”. This statement is effective because it uses emotional language to convey a
sense of frustration and urgency with the lack of action on climate change.
3. “You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and
angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation, then
you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe. This statement is effective because it uses
emotional language to make a moral argument that the audience should take action to
prevent future suffering.

EXPLANATION: