25 Elements of an Argument: Logos, Ethos, Pathos, and Kairos
25 Elements of an Argument: Logos, Ethos, Pathos, and Kairos
Core Curriculum and Christina Frasier
Learning Objectives
- Define argument in an academic context.
- Understand an author’s argumentative strategy and its effectiveness.
- Learn about the different devices for an argument.
Identifying and analyzing arguments
When writers and speakers want to persuade their audiences, they have a series of tools or strategies at their disposal. These strategies can be called modes of persuasion. Because of their effectiveness, these modes have been employed by countless people over thousands of years. Among them were the ancient Greeks, who recognized that speakers frequently appealed to logic, to the speaker’s own character, and to the audience’s emotions, while paying special attention to the timing of an argument. The Greeks labeled these efforts, respectively, as logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos.
What is an argument?
An argument is a systematic attempt to support a debatable claim using logical explanations and reliable evidence. The thesis or claim is debatable because an audience may not find it readily believable without supporting evidence. Stating a debatable claim alone is not sufficient for an argument, however. The author must also explain her reasoning and offer adequate and appropriate examples or data or other forms of evidence to support the claim.
How do I identify an author’s argument?
Writers and speakers often state their argument as part of their introduction. In this opening to a piece on children’s beauty pageants by J. Salzano (2013), her main claim is made in the final sentence:
When most people think of normal activities for a six year-old girl, they picture a sea full of Barbie dolls, coloring books and dress up clothes … Popular shows such as “Toddlers and Tiaras”, which revolves around exaggerated filming of child pageantry shows America one narrow view of what the pageant world is all about …The media distorts how society views pageants but they can be beneficial because they give children contestants useful life lessons and they can be viewed on the same positive level as other popular competitive sports.
In journalistic writing, it’s also common to find the argument in the title, as in the article “Pet ownership in college can be a full time job” (Banus, 2013).
Sometimes the argument is made in the conclusion. Sometimes, however, an argument is never distilled into one or two sentences. In that case, it’s up to the audience to decide what argument is being made based on the sum of all the claims the author makes.
What is an effective argument?
An effective argument supports a main claim—that is, a thesis—with a set of supporting claims. These key supporting ideas often are stated as topic sentences in body paragraphs. Each stage of the argument—each key supporting idea—is illustrated with logical and reliable evidence.
An effective argument also shows a clear understanding of differing viewpoints and does its best to ackn