04 Jun The Rhetorical Appeals Assignment Template
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.
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:
Ethos
Logos
Pathos
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.
