Assignment: The Rhetorical Appeals
Purpose:
This assignment will help you define the rhetorical appeals in your own words and begin to analyze how they are used in an everyday scenario: a persuasive social media post. Use this template to guide you through completing each prompt. Need Assignment Help?
Instructions:
Choose a social media post (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) that is trying to convince people of something (buying a product, changing an opinion, joining a cause, etc.). Then follow these steps:
Part 1: Define the Appeals in your own words (1-2 complete sentences per appeal):
In your own words, define each:
Each definition should be 1-2 sentences and explain how the rhetorical appeal works in persuasion.
Part 2: Describe the Post
Each response should be 1-2 complete sentences minimum.
Answer these questions:
- Insert a screenshot of your chosen post in this response box.
- What is the post about?
- What audience is the post targeting?
- What is the creator trying to persuade the audience to do, think, or feel?
Part 3: Identify and Explain the Appeals
Each response should be 1-2 complete sentences minimum.
Answer these questions to explain how the post uses each rhetorical appeal:
- What's one moment that uses logos? What makes it logical (or maybe where it fails to be logical)?
- What's one moment that uses ethos? How is credibility or trust shown (or lost) with the target audience?
- What's one moment that uses pathos? How does it create emotion?
Part 4: Assess
Which appeal do you think worked best in the post, and why? Answer with at least two complete sentences.