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Without a level of emotional appeal, academic writing, no matter how logical or credible, can be boring and ineffective. Writers use pathos in academic writing by giving their readers a personal reason to continue reading and to think, feel, and do what the writer intends. Pathos is developed with meaningful language, a compelling tone, emotion-evoking examples, inspiring stories, and/or implied meanings.Īs with the other appeals, it all comes down to purpose and audience, and the easiest way to reach an audience is to create an emotional connection. It all depends on the context of the argument and what the author or speaker would like his or her audience to feel and, ultimately, do. It’s important to keep in mind that “emotion” isn’t the same as “emotional,” and pathos doesn’t always have to draw highly-charged emotions understanding, curiosity, and calmness are all emotions and all ways a speaker or writer may use pathos to appeal to an audience. Pathos also includes positive emotions such as joy, excitement, or a sense of comradery. Another use of pathos would be to inspire anger from an audience, perhaps in order to prompt action.
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A common use of pathos would be to draw pity from an audience. Pathos is the Greek word for both “suffering” and “experience.” The words empathy and pathetic are derived from pathos.
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Pathos or the emotional appeal, means to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions and personal interests.
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