A&B Chapter 3, 3.2 "Appeals to Ethos & Pathos"

When writing it is important to use the rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos and logos.  Logos is the logic or facts.  Logos is important, but if you really want to make a good argument you need ethos and pathos as well.  Ethos is credibility or trustworthiness.  If you want to have a strong argument then you and your sources need to be  valid sources of information.  Pathos on the other hand is passion or an appeal to peoples emotions.  If you channel your writing to your audiences emotions you "can also arouse audiences interest and deepen understanding. " as the Allyn Bacon Guide to Writing says.  Pathos can be a really useful tool if you are trying to call people to action.  Overall though you need all three to make your argument complete.  In any persuasive argument I write I plan on using ethos, pathos, and logos.  I know that appealing to pathos will help motivate my audience to action, while logos will back up my claim and ethos will create credit ability overall creating a strong argument.