Rhetorical Appeals
This appeal targets emotions, often using stories or vivid language.
What is pathos?
The step in the writing process where you explore and create ideas, ask questions, and gather thoughts.
What is brainstorming?
The person or voice delivering the message — including their credibility, perspective, and background.
What is the speaker?
This type of source is created at the time of an event or by someone who experienced it firsthand.
What is a primary source?
This opening section of an essay introduces the topic and often includes a thesis statement.
What is an introduction?
Facts, statistics, and reasoning are tools of this rhetorical appeal.
What is logos?
During this stage, a writer turns ideas into complete sentences and paragraphs, focusing on getting ideas down.
What is drafting?
The specific group of people the message is intended for. The writer must consider their beliefs, values, and knowledge.
What is the audience?
A book or article that interprets, analyzes, or summarizes information from other sources is called this.
What is a secondary source?
The one sentence that clearly states the main argument or claim of your essay.
What is a thesis statement?
A writer builds this appeal by showing credibility or authority.
What is ethos?
A writer checks this during revision to ensure grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting are correct.
What is editing?
The reason the writer or speaker creates the message — what they want to achieve (to inform, persuade, entertain, call to action, etc.)
What is the purpose?
These sources are written by experts, include citations, and are peer-reviewed.
What is a scholarly (academic) source?
A sentence or phrase that explains how evidence supports your claim in a paragraph.
What is an explanation?
“When you see vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you see hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your Black brothers and sisters; then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.”
— Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
What is an appeal to pathos?
After feedback, this step may involve rewriting sections to improve clarity, flow, or depth of ideas.
What is revision?
A category of communication defined by shared features, purposes, and audience expectations. Helps writers and speakers choose structure, tone, and strategies appropriate for their goals and audience.
What is genre?
Articles found in magazines or newspapers, written for general audiences, are known as this type of source.
What is a popular source?
This part of an essay restates the thesis in a fresh way and leaves the reader with a final thought.
What is a concluding paragraph?
“According to Dr. Lisa Rodriguez, a neuroscientist at Stanford University who has studied adolescent brain development for over twenty years, early school start times negatively affect learning outcomes.”
What is an appeal to ethos?
Miss Kat argues this is the first true step to the writing process. It involves becoming aware of topics and issues through exposure to information.
The issue, problem, or situation that prompts the act of writing or speaking — the spark that motivates communication.
What is exigence?
Unlike popular sources, scholarly sources typically avoid this kind of language.
What is informal or biased language?
A parenthetical reference in the text that points to a source in your works cited is called this.
What is an in-text citation?