Lesson video

Hi, I'm Miss Howard.

If you remember last time, last lesson, we looked at ethos in the introduction to rhetoric and how we can ensure that our audiences believed were trustworthy.

And were credible.

So today we're going to be looking at the second element, which is logos.

It's a really powerful part of the Triad that enables us to convince our audiences that we're knowledgeable and that we know what we're talking about.

So can you stop any distractions, conversations or apps that you might have running in the background.

You'll need a pen and something to write on.

Find yourself a quiet corner.

And when you're ready, we'll get started.

So in today's lesson, we're going to have a little bit of a rhetoric recap.

So that we remember what the answer rhetoric is.

Then we'll explore logos.

So that we have really firm understanding of what logos is, what it looks like, and how we can include it in our writing or speaking.

We'll consider how logos strengthens an argument.

So how it makes it more effective.

And then we'll close the lesson with that key question at the bottom.

Why should we use logos? Why is it so important and integral a key part of our persuasive writing or speaking? So just to recap rhetoric, is the art of persuasive speaking or writing.

It's from the word rhetor, which means speaker or master orator.

Remember from last lesson, an orator is a professional speaker used to very familiar with speaking to crowds of people.

Rhetoric is so important for when we're speaking, or writing because it helps other people to become convinced by what we're saying.

It strengthens our arguments and makes us sound knowledgeable and credible and trusted.

Aristotle, the founder of rhetoric, believed that in order to use rhetoric effectively, you need a knowledge and support knowledge and logic, sorry, to support your argument.

Now previously, last lesson, we looked at ethos, which is how trustworthy and credible you appear to your audience.

They have to feel like this is something that you genuinely care about whatever it is that you're talking about or writing about.

Today, we'll look at logos which is the content of your speech or writing that makes your argument logical and well evidenced.

Quite simply, logos is the proof.

Logos, is the logic and reason within an argument, as I said before, is the proof to back to yourself up.

It's taken from the Greek word, for word, or reason logos.

Now, the fact that the Greeks use the word logos, for word shows you how essential it is to an argument.

You can't have arguments without words.

Let's look at this in a little bit more detail.

Do feel free to make notes if it will help you to understand logos better.

Logos is your argument.

It allows your audience to believe, not know.

And that's very important.

We have to sound like we know what we're talking about.

So it allows your audience to believe that your argument is well evidenced by facts and figures, supported with expert opinions or proof and that makes a statement as an alternative to the bad advice that people might have taken in the past.

We then present our argument as the better option.

It shows your audience that you're well researched in your claims. This presents you as really knowledgeable to the audience as a result.

They're more likely to agree with what you're saying.

So pause the video here, have a go at this multiple choice question.

What is logos? How did you do? option three, what is logos? Logic and reason or the proof.

Did you notice option two here, is the definition for ethos.

So there are various ways that we can include logos to persuade other people of our opinions or our views.

Here are three key ways to do so.

So we can create a strong sense of logos using facts and figures, statistics, fractions, percentages, and expert's opinion.

So someone who is well respected on the topic.

If we were trying to persuade around an issue to do with sport, we might bring a key coach or a football manager to speak about it or share their ideas.

If we're talking about medical issue, or about being healthy, we might bring a doctor in to share their ideas and include a quotation from them.

Or dialysis, dialysis is an either or statement.

Here's some examples for you.

You might want to pause the video here so that you can make notes.

Just so that you're really clear on these three different ways.

And these three different methods to include logos.

So facts and figures.

87% of people that live to old age, eat at least five fruit and vegetables a day.

Now that percentage is pretty high as men, it convinces me that I should probably be doing the same if I want to live to a nice old age.

Expert opinion.

Doctors claim that a fridge full of fruit will essentially save your life.

A doctor must know what they're talking about when it comes to health.

So it's far more likely that I would listen to this person.

Dialysis, either eat rubbish, or eat right.

They present the bad alternative, followed by a good alternative.

So here's what you've seen before, that's really all four.

Here's what you should be doing instead.

We can't just use one of these elements In order to create logos.

We need a blend of all three in order to really build effective logos within our arguments.

If we just use lots and lots of facts and figures, our audience is probably going to switch off equally.

If we just use dialysis all the time.

In the do what you're doing now, we'll do this.

May actually come across as a little bit bossy.

So we need a combination of these three matters In order to create effective logos.

Logos is so powerful.

Because if your audience believes not only are you trustworthy ethos, but you're knowledgeable and you're backing yourself up with all these experts and all these research, then they're going to be more likely to agree with you.

What we're going to do is come up with our own logos.

I'd like to write down three facts about why fruit and vegetables are good for you.

Don't forget, you can make them up.

You can make up percentages or fractions, as long as your audience believes you.

So as long as they sound believable.

I've given you some examples there.

Any three facts.

Don't forget to press play when you're done.

How did you get on? I've given you some examples here.

Yours, I'm sure will be far more impressive.

But if you like, you can pause the video here and add to your own ideas, your own three facts.

Now what we need with those three facts is a way of bringing them all together to make a really strong statement.

Let's have a look at tricolon.

Tri-colon is a statement that uses three ideas, one after the other.

It will help our facts become a piece of writing.

As an example, fruit is good for you.

It makes you feel better and it helps you to sleep at night.

Three facts about why fruits is impressive.

Here's another example.

The simple fact is that fruit is good for your nails, good for your skin, good for your life.

Now this is very clever.

They've not only used three simple facts about why fruit is so amazing, they've use repetition here.

Good for your, good for your, good for your.

It becomes a little bit of a supercharged statement, because it's not only using my facts, but it's using repetition to make sure that the facts are memorable for the audience.

What I'd like you to do, is using your three facts that you wrote down before, to try and create a tri-colon sentence.

To persuade other people why it's good to eat fruit and vegetables.

Then you can put the video back and have a look at those examples.

Or I've given you a sentence that's meant to help you out to get started.

Don't forget to press play when you're done.

How did you get on? Let's look at a couple of examples as to what this might have looked like.

You can pause the video and add to your own tri-colon statement if it helps.

So the first example, it's good for me, it makes me feel healthy and it's better for me than chips.

That's nice.

They've probably, you know, used quite an impressive fact that is definitely better for me than chips.

Let's all be honest.

Not bad.

The good answer.

Fruit and vegetables helps me to have perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect health.

Now this person has used that repetition.

So that not only got the fact yes, we know that fruit and vegetables helps me to have better skin, better hair, improves my health.

They've used that perfect repetition of the adjective perfect to really appeal to their audience.

And not only perfect, but make it memorable as well.

Right, let's see how you get on with this multiple choice question.

You can pick more than one answer here.

More than one answer applies.

Pause the video, have a go.

You can create a strong sense of logos using your word, facts and figures, expert opinion, dialysis.

Let's have a look at dialysis in a little bit more detail because that's probably brand new.

Dialysis, is a rhetorical device that makes an either or statement.

Let's have a look at some examples.

Either you are with us or against us.

You see here in that example.

It switches round.

So it gives us the good thing that we should be doing.

You should be with us, you should be on our side or against us.

So it provides the thing that we should do.

And then the awful thing that we shouldn't do.

Either sit back, or change lives.

This one uses dialysis the other way around.

So either sit back, do nothing, carry on or change lives, the better alternative.

The thing that we should be doing? It doesn't really matter which order they go on.

It works either way, but the dialysis statement should provide the thing that everybody's doing right now that isn't very good.

And then the alternative that you're suggesting, as the better option.

Let's have a look at the true and false.

There are three statements here.

Can you let me know which ones are true, and which ones are false.

Pause the video.

Don't forget to replay when you're done.

How did you do? Okay, so true.

Logos is the proof of your argument.

Two, logos can be including facts and figures into your argument.

B, was false.

Because that's the definition of ethos, remember? Let's have another go.

Are these statements true or false? Now false is that that final one, dialysis is an either, or statement.

Don't worry too much.

If you didn't get it.

You've only just learned dialysis today.

So fantastic job if you managed to get that one right.

So using logos to strengthen an argument.

Putting it all together.

Making a bold statement about how great fruit is, is not convincing, we need to use our rational argument.

So let's practise using the other devices to build an entire argument rather than just our tri-colon statement.

Let's have a look at this example.

I'm going to read through all together for you and I want you to see if you can spot the three different ways that we have to include logos within an argument.

As I'm reading, pause the video if you want to read it throw yourself to make notes.

We need to consider how we eat for a better life.

If we continue to eat kilos of sugar, buckets of chicken, mountains of chips, what do we expect? We need to think about the benefits that fruit and vegetables can have.

Good for sleep, good for skin, good for happiness.

Fruits and vegetables just make our lives better.

Dr.

Harris claims that just eating a handful of strawberries, an orange and an apple and including some vegetables for our dinner will change our lives.

Either make the wrong food choice or pick the right one.

Eat fruit.

Can you manage to spot them? Let's go through and have a look.

So this tri-colon was really nice, wasn't it? Because they not only include those three facts, those three statements about fruit, they also use that repetition, good for, good fo, good for, good for sleep, good for skin, good for happiness.

Very nicely done.

Did you spot the expert's opinion? Here we go.

Dr.

Harris claims that just eating a handful of strawberries, an orange and an apple and including some vegetables for our dinner would change our lives.

Did you see the dialysis? Either make the wrong food choice or pick the right one.

Eat fruit.

Very nice.

Okay, over to you.

What I want you to do is write a short speech explaining why eating fruit and vegetables is so important.

Try to include those three different methods to build logos within your speech.

If you need to go back in the video and have a look at that example, to give you some idea.

Fantastic.

I've also given you a sentence here to start you off on your speech.

Pause the video here.

Don't forget to resume, press play when you're done.

Best of luck.

Brilliant work.

I bet your speeches are absolutely fantastic.

All is to do just try and have a go at this true or false just to see how much you've remembered.

Best of luck.

How did you do? Logos is the proof of your argument.

And dialysis helps to build logos.

You don't need expert opinions to strengthen your argument.

Definitely false.

We know that logos are made, including expert opinions will definitely strengthen our argument.

So let's think about our final question today.

Why should we use logos? Why is logos so important? We can't just simply come across as trustworthy, without logos, without evidence to back ourselves up.

We can't just tell people the way things are.

They have to believe that we know what we're talking about.

And that's why logos is so important.

If you try to speak about a particular topic without coming across as an expert of that topic, then nobody will believe really or want to listen to what we're saying.

Pause the video here and think about your own answer to that question.

Fantastic work today.

You've worked so hard.

If you'd liked to please ask your parent or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, tagging @OakNational and the hashtag #LearnwithOak.

See you next time.