Logos, and Pathos, and Ethos…Oh My!

            The main body of an essay consists of three main terms, and they are: Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. These terms come from the Greek and can respectfully be defined as “word”, “character”, and “suffering” or “experience” depending on the context of the translation. The Logos refers to the logic of the piece; it is the facts and evidence you have drawn during your research like using known scientific theory and law in a story that people would already know intimately. The Ethos refers to the trustworthiness and credibility of a paper and will determine the respectability of the paper and its author. This would probably be a good time to be a name dropper; use a previously respected name to get your foot in the door or come up with one’s own radical ideas that a person may respect. Finally the last element to a good paper is the Pathos, the emotional response from the audience of your writing usually in response to the writer’s own emotional input into his creation. Easiest way to do that is kill someone off, or you could just write in a vernacular that the audience can relate with.

                Understanding all of these concepts will help a write infinitely; that is if he ever wants to make money at it. First of all, the most important concept is the Logos, or logical appeal of a paper, because no one is going to read your blog or short story if they simply think you’re an idiot. But a writer also needs to be respected and more importantly, loved.