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Aristotle （384322 B．C．E．）， a pupil of Plato， was probably a more academic thinker on rhetoric than any of his predecessors and the first to teach rhetoric at Plato’ s Academy in Athens.Though mainly a teacher and scholar all this life， his work Rhetoric was the first systematic study of rhetoric in western civilization.In Rhetoric ， he defines rhetoric as the art of discovering the means of persuasion available for any occasion and elaborates on the process of effective speech and three famous rhetorical appeals． 5
Comprised mainly of his lecture notes on rhetoric， Rhetoric divides rhetoric into two major categories—the artistic proofs and inartistic proofs， and then divides artistic proofs into three appeals： appeals to logos， pathos， and ethos.Logical appeals stress that arguments need to follow logical reasoning.Aristotle further divides logical appeals into enthymeme， maxim， and example.Aristotle believes that enthymemes， a kind of syllogism whose premise is not stated on the assumption that the audience already knows it， are in general the kind of logical reasoning most suitable for audience made up of non-experts.A rational （ logical） appeal to maxims means that quoting a figure of authority or a phrase of accepted wisdom may provide the needed premise for arguments.The rational appeal to examples is also very effective with enthymematic arguments.Pathetic （ emotional ） appeals stir and strengthen emotions that are conducive to arguments.Ethical （ credibility） appeals construct a favorable character of the speaker／ writer and work on building common ground and shared values and beliefs．
The following section will make a general introduction to these rhetorical appeals that are most useful for making persuasive arguments．
Logical appeals are appeals from logos and rely mostly on logical reasoning.Logical reasoning can be divided into two kinds： inductive reasoning， which mainly generalizes through sufficient individual examples， and deductive reasoning， a syllogism that a uses a major premise and a minor premise to reach a conclusion.The enthymeme， a practical syllogism that often omits the major premise because it is shared with the audience， is more preferred in writing arguments.The Toulmin model adapts syllogism and emphasizes the importance of the warrant in making the evidence support the claim．Beyond these major logical reasoning models， there are many other types of logical reasoning．
1 .Classifying： When we classify something， we tend to put something into a group or class so that we can argue whether it has the characteristics or qualities of the class or not．
2 .Dividing： Division is a way of breaking the whole of something into parts to make it information easy for readers to follow and understand．
3 .Categorizing： When we classify or divide， we tend to create clear and distinct categories.We also need to provide simple and accurate criteria for each category so that each piece of information will fit into one category only．
4 .Defining： When some terms are difficult， new， important， nonspecific， ambiguous，abstract， or controversial， we define them through describing their features or function，comparing， or using， etymology and example， etc．
5 .Comparing and Contrasting： Comparing things looks at similarities； contrasting focuses on difference.We often tend to compare obviously similar things， but sometimes we also compare things that are less obviously similar.Comparisons and contrasts may be organized in two basic ways： one simple way is the block method，which presents and discusses each item separately by giving all the information about one item and then moving on to give all the information about the next item； the other，the more productive， way is the point-by-point method， which focuses on specific points of comparison or contrast and present each comparison/contrasr point by giving information about both items.We can use tables， charts， graphs， as well as figurative language to make comparisons and contrast．
6 .Explaining Processes： When you explain a process， you tell how something is done.Whether the process is simple or complex， you will need to identify its key stages or steps and explain them one by one.Explaining processes will help your readers better understand how things are done， what problems arise in the process， etc．
7 .Determining Causes and Effects： Determining causes can help us think why something happened； determining effects can help us consider what might happen if we believe in or do something.It is likely that there are several possible causes and many predictable effects.Some causes may be more obvious or important while others are harder to recognize.Similarly， some effects are short-term while others are long-term．Some effects are primary while others are secondary.Therefore， it is important to decide which is which.Listing， clustering， and outlining are useful processes for analyzing causes.Often you might need to do some research to identify possible causes or effects and to find evidence to support your analysis.Once you have identified possible causes or predictable effects， you need to argue that some are more plausible than others．There are three common ways to organize cause and effect.The first approach is to identify a cause and then discuss its effects.The second identifies an effect and then traces its causes.When discussing a chain of causes and effects， you may identify the chain by describing how the first cause leads to the first effect and how the first effect leads to the next effect， etc．
8 .Proposing Solutions： When you are proposing something， you are trying to persuade others to see a problem in a particular way and to accept your solution to the problem.There are several steps to take when proposing solutions.The first step is to clearly identify the problem： describing the nature of the problem， as well as the scope of the problem， providing background information about the causes and context of the problem， describing the serious effects that the problem has caused or may cause， and pointing out the significance for solving the problem.Once you have clearly identified the problem， you need to propose a solution to the problem.In proposing a solution， you need to offer sufficient， concrete details about the solution， and make sure that readers fully understand what you are proposing.When proposing several solutions， you may need to discuss them and decide the best solution.The last stage is to justify your proposal： you need to convince your readers that your solution is feasible or workable and that it is the best way to solve the problem； then， you discuss the benefits of your proposal and predict possible difficulties or obstacles in implementing your proposal；finally， you make a call for action and persuade your readers to accept your proposal and to take corresponding actions．
It is well acknowledged by classical rhetoricians that the credibility of the speaker／writer holds particular power in making successful arguments.This appeal is called by Aristotle as the appeal from ethos.The ethos may have something to do with the reputation， profession， and authority that the speaker／ writer has before the argument，but the ethos emphasized refers more to the ethos the speaker／ writer creates within the speech or argument.In this sense， ethos is more like the persona speakers/writers create through both verbal and nonverbal manners.In writing arguments， we put emphasis on the verbal manners that writers use to enhance their ethos.When making speeches， advertising a product to a target audience， interviewing face-to-face for a job，or interacting with other people in daily life， speakers need to be aware not only of verbal but more importantly of non-verbal manners．
As a persona we create for ourselves in the argument， the ethos can be the real roles or images we have in our life， but most often we tend to choose to highlight roles that are most relevant， appropriate， or beneficial to the issue， audience， or argument．Ethos can also be an image， or a role we create for ourselves through language in the argument.Sometimes the speaker needs to be aware of the stereotypical images that the target audience has about the speaker himself or herself， and chooses to debunk that stereotype and highlight the images that are more positive and advantageous to the issue， the position， or the situation.The common sense about ethos is that the more positive the ethos is， the more credible or trustworthy the speaker is， the more persuasive the argument will be.A positive ethos is an image that is knowledgeable，fair， professional， and of good will.Hence， in creating an ethos， we typically consider the following four ways． 6
1 .Demonstrate knowledge about your issue. Being knowledgeable about your issue is the first and direct approach to gain credibility.To be specific， being knowledgeable means you have done your homework on the issue， you have a good command of the background information， the controversies of the issue， some crucial evidence—statistics， empirical studies， personal experiences， etc.Appropriate use of relevant and sufficient research sources often contributes to your authority in talking about the issue．
2 .Demonstrate fairness. Demonstrating fairness is important in making persuasive arguments.Fairness is mostly manifest in the way how writers/speakers are aware of alternative ways， how they address counterarguments and make concessions or refutations.We will enhance our ethos if we can show respect， courtesy， and understanding to alternative views and demonstrate empathy toward their perspectives．Thus， making concessions to counterarguments before refuting them will not damage our own arguments but instead strengthen our ethos， and consequently our arguments．
3 .Demonstrate good will． Imagine that making arguments is like talking to target audience across the river： the writer／ speaker stands on this bank and tries to beckon the audience on the other bank to swim across the river to come to this bank.The river—the gap—between the writer／ speaker and audience can be huge even with a friendly audience， who may share some of views but differ vastly from us in other values； the gap can be wider when the audience is hostile to our arguments.Therefore， it is vital that we demonstrate good will toward our audience by building a bridge for our audience to walk across the gap-river and join us in our argument.Building common ground means that grounding our argument in reasons， values， principles， interests， beliefs， and concerns that are shared by our audience.In providing evidence， supports， and reasons，we need to choose those that speak to our audience， those that are accessible，comprehensible， and reasonable to them， and those that are easily relatable to their life and experience．
4 .Demonstrate professionalism. We demonstrate professionalism through adopting appropriate style and tone， making careful and accurate choice of words， using correct grammar， offering accurate documentation of sources borrowed in the arguments， and by conforming to the conventions of arguments， etc.This may sound superficial or trivial， but weakness in professionalism can often give a discount to our credibility， or may kill our argument instantly．
In summary， it needs to be stressed that building a good ethos is important to making good arguments， and that the earlier we build good ethos， the audience will be rendered more amenable to our argument.In both written and spoken arguments， if we suspect that our ethos as speakers/writers are not advantageous to the kind of argument or claim we want to make， we need to address the ethos first and build a positive ethos as early as possible before addressing the logos or pathos．
Emotional appeal is also important in making persuasive arguments.Though the importance of logical reasoning and credibility cannot be emphasized enough， appeals to audience’s pathos hold a special power in changing readers’ mind and attitudes and in motivating them to take actions.As human thinking and understanding is both logical and illogical， our cognition is affected both by logical reasoning and by emotions.To appeal to the emotions of audience is to appeal to the whole person rather than only to the logical part of human thinking and understanding．
We roughly divide emotions into two types： positive emotions such as pride， joy，happiness， safety， security， comfort， confidence， fulfillment， content， empathy， and negative emotions such as shame， guilt， disgust， contempt， discontent， anger， hate，discontent， diffidence， apathy， etc.In general， writers/speakers need to analyze，before making an argument， the emotions that audience may have toward the issue and argument and then use strategies to transform this current set of emotions into a new set of emotions that are conducive to persuasion．
Emotional appeals may be used throughout the whole argument， but it is most appropriate to employ them in the beginning and especially toward the end of the argument， when certain emotions must be evoked， enhanced， or magnified in order to elicit certain expected actions from audience.Generally speaking， writers/speakers want to evoke positive emotions to replace the current negative emotions.However， some negative emotions， such as shame and discontent， can also be as effective as positive emotions.Oftentimes writers may want to evoke both positive and negative emotions， a mixture which might be more conducive to actions．
Writers can use many ways to create appeals from pathos.Among them five strategies are most popular and useful． 7
1 .Use concrete language. Concrete language can increase not only the liveliness of your language but also enhance the interest level of your audience in your discussion of the issue.In other words， concrete language gets readers more emotionally involved．
2 .Use specific examples and illustrations. Specific examples and illustrations can both provide evidence to support your reasons but also make it conducive for your audience to relate themselves to the specific experiences of individuals.Thus， wise choice of specific examples can make the audience feel more emotionally connected with the issue．
3 .Use narratives． Narratives always have a special power in evoking pathos．Stories—long or short， real or imaginative—are always effective in grabbing readers’attention and making them emotionally amendable to your argument．
4 .Choose words， metaphors， and analogies with appropriate connotations. Choosing words with some particular kind of connotations can provide a framework for your audience to think and feel toward your subject or argument.The connotations can be positive or negative， so the connotations can lead your audience into forming positive or negative feeling or attitude toward the subject or argument.Metaphors and analogies—often considered as extended metaphors—are powerful in evoking imaginative emotions．
5 .Use appropriate images or pictures． Visuals have strong persuasive power in evoking emotions.Charts， tables， pictures， photos， or drawings have persuasive power similar to verbal strategies such as concrete language， specific examples， narratives， or metaphors．