Examples of Logos, Ethos, Pathos, and Kairos in the ... - KsuWeb

Examples of Logos, Ethos, Pathos, and Kairos
in the Adams Essay
We discussed some examples of the four rhetorical appeals in the essay by Gordon
Adams, “Petition to Waive the University Mathematics Requirement”:
Logos (Logic)
Adams effectively argues that the ASU math requirement makes little sense to his case.
He also throws back the answers from the department chair that confirm that the skills
taught in these two math classes will never be applicable to his profession.
Ethos (Credibility)
He proves that he has drive and initiative — he recalls his ability to enter and succeed
in college without having earned a high school diploma, he proudly reveals his 3.9 GPA
and academic honors, he identifies his ambition for law school, and he strives to be a
leader to his people. He doesn’t seem like some slacker just trying to get out of hard
work, so this author establishes his credibility well. He also takes the initiative to
anticipate the questions that the committee members might ask and he asks those
questions himself to the department chairs and attorneys in the field to reveal their
answers in his favor. He further proves that he can use functional math skills in the real
world when he recalls his 15-year career in construction and his successful business
operations.
Pathos (Emotion)
He applies a guilt trip on the committee — he recalls ASU’s claim that they go out of
their way to assist Native Americans, yet he questions how adhering to the math
requirement in his case promotes Native American outreach. He also makes the reader
feel proud for this man’s accomplishments, which further promotes sympathy from the
audience.
Kairos (Timeliness)
He argues that time is of the essence — that a one-year delay will delay legal services to
an entire tribe of people, which would cause further harm to his community (he
mentions the drug and alcohol abuse rates and claims federal discrimination against his
tribe that are not being addressed due to their lack of legal counsel).

Further Critique and Discussion
Notice that Adams establishes his credibility very effectively, and this can be
demonstrated by the length of the examples above. Notice that this type of argument
would normally be made by some lazy student looking to scam the system, so Adams
knows that his request and his motivation for making it will be met initially with
skepticism by the committee. Adams knows that he must focus on every possible
question about his character and intentions, so he develops several examples to justify
his unique circumstances.
Yes, Adams also writes logically and passionately (without being snooty or rude), but
the logic and passion would not carry the argument on the committee without their
sympathy. He achieves pathos by developing a strong sense of ethos.
So, what we see here is an example of a very strong, valid argument, and its validity
stems from the strength in all four areas of influence (logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos).
Therefore, one lesson learned from this is that a good college opinion paper needs to be
strong in all four of these areas.
Had Adams been weak in any one of these, he would have created holes in his claim
that could easily make his argument’s effectiveness fall apart. However, many
arguments still retain their strength even with weak moments, but these are all
determined by the context: the audience, the situation, the immediacy of action, etc.
Here’s a question: “Is Adams’ argument flawed in any way?”
The answer is yes.
This essay is not perfect. Some punctuation and mechanical errors exist, many of his
examples redundantly repeat the same claims, and he uses the university’s lower
administration (the department chair) against the upper administration, which often
can be considered unethical.
The biggest flaw in his argument is an illogical claim that he will gladly substitute two
other classes to replace the two required math courses. The logical question then must
be asked: “So, how does the class switch get this guy graduating any sooner?” He still
has to take these two classes, so his graduation date has not been changed by this
maneuver.
However, the overall strength of the argument is evident, and therefore can survive a
bump in the road or two. Because his argument is so comprehensive, his strengths far
outpace his weaknesses.