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Hello and welcome to today's lesson.
My name is Ms. Watson, and I'm really looking forward to teaching you today.
We are going to be learning about an ancient Greek philosopher called Aristotle and his triad, and that is going to help you write really persuasively on any issue that concerns you that you want to take a stand about.
So thank you for being here and let's get started.
So the outcome of today's lesson is that you will be able to identify and use Aristotle's triad in writing.
Let's move on.
So we're gonna start with the keywords, and they are influential, rhetoric, logic, expertise, and credible.
Let's look at what they mean.
Now, if you are influential, you have the power to change people or things.
Rhetoric is speech or writing intended to be effective and influence people.
Logic is the use of reason, or it's actually a study of how reason works.
If you have expertise in an area, you have a high level of knowledge or skill in that area.
And if you are credible, you can be believed or trusted.
Now, if you would like a little bit of time to familiarise yourself with the keywords and their definition, now's the time to do that.
You can pause the video while you do that and join us when you are ready.
So today's lesson, there will be three learning cycles.
In the first one, we are going to be learning about Aristotle and his triad.
And then we're going to look at how his triad is used in a speech.
And we're gonna finish with you using Aristotle's triad in your own writing.
So let's move on.
So what is Aristotle's triad? Well, this is what the Oak pupils have learned.
They've learned that Aristotle was an influential Greek philosopher.
His ideas are still relevant today.
If you were to study philosophy, you will almost certainly read about Aristotle.
He lived from 384 BCE to 322 BCE.
He was tutor to Alexander the Great, and he wrote about politics, rhetoric, and logic.
You can see two of our key words there.
And a triad.
Now a triad is a group of three.
The prefix tri means three.
You can see it in words like triangular and tricycle.
So a group of three.
And Aristotle thought rhetoric needed three elements.
He thought it needed logos, which appeals to the audience's sense of logic and reason.
He thought it needed ethos, which was a way of persuading people using expertise and ethics.
So you could have been knowledgeable in this area, but you could also have a moral authority in this area.
And he thought you needed pathos, which appeals to the audience's emotions.
Now, what I'd like you to do is have a little bit of a discussion about why this triad, Aristotle's triad, why might it be useful for writers who want to take a stand about something they believe in or something they think needs to be changed? You can pause the video while you have a discussion.
Really looking forward to hearing what you think about this.
Off you go.
So welcome back.
This is what the Oak pupil said in response to that question.
Now Izzy said that she thought that the triad would give writers different ways of speaking to their readers.
And each of those ways, logos, ethos, pathos, has specific strengths.
So if you use pathos and create emotions like empathy or compassion in your reader, that would be very persuasive.
I think that's some really good thinking there, Izzy.
Well done.
And Alex said that using logos and presenting, say statistics and facts and figures, can make your argument very convincing.
And he said it's particularly convincing when you combine that with ethos and you have credible experts with knowledge and authority in the subject.
So credible experts that we can believe and trust.
Is there anything you would like to add? If you'd like to take some of those ideas now or have a little bit extra discussion, now's the time.
Join us when you are ready.
You can pause the video and join us when you are ready.
Before we move on, I'd like us to have a quick check for understanding.
Now below there are three examples, and you need to identify whether it's ethos, pathos, or logos being used.
So A, a scientist delivers a presentation using a graph to show the outcomes of a new medicine that was being trialled.
That's right, it's logos.
An advert for an animal charity shows pictures of dogs and cats being rescued and given new homes.
That's pathos, which means that the nutritionist explaining the benefits of a particular food item is ethos.
Very well done if you've got those right.
Let's move on.
Now this is your opportunity to explain your understanding of Aristotle's triad in a little bit more detail.
And you're gonna write an answer to this question.
What is Aristotle's triad and why is it important for writers? I would like you to use the following vocabulary in your answer.
Ethos, pathos, logos, logic, emotions, expertise, Aristotle's triad and philosopher.
Please pause the video while you write that.
Looking forward to seeing what you write.
So off you go.
Welcome back.
Now you might have written something like this.
Influential philosopher Aristotle drew up a triad of rhetorical approaches.
These are ethos, the appeal to expertise, pathos, the evoking of emotions, and logos, the appeal to logic.
It is useful to writers because it allows them to address their readers or listeners in a variety of ways.
The reader or listener is encouraged to both think and feel about the subject, and also to trust in authority.
The combined approach is very powerful, and I think if you said something like that, you really understand still something very important about the triad, is it appeals to both head and heart, and it's the combination that makes it so powerful as a rhetorical or a persuasive device.
So very, very well done.
Let's move on.
So we've looked at Aristotle's triad, and now we're going to look at how it is used in a speech.
This is it in practise.
Now we're going to read an extract from a speech that appears in the novel "Animal Farm" by George Orwell.
You're gonna find this in additional materials.
A little bit of context about the novel.
It's set on a farm in England where the animals are mistreated and exploited by a neglectful farmer called Mr. Jones.
Now it's anthropomorphic.
So most of the characters are animals, or many of the characters are animals.
And a wise and respected pig called Old Major has called all the animals together for a secret meeting.
And he then delivers a speech aimed at making them see that human beings are their enemy and that they must work to overthrow them.
And Old Major wants 'em to work towards a society in which animals are in charge of their own destiny.
Okay, it's a very good speech and a very good novel.
So this is how the speech begins.
"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night.
But I will come to the dream later.
I have something else to say first.
I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months longer.
And before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired.
I have had a long life.
I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall.
And I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living.
It is about this that I wish to speak to you." Now, what event prompted Old Major to deliver his speech? Have a think.
Yeah, he delivered his speech after having a strange dream.
Something of a visionary is Old Major.
And he goes on, "Now, comrades.
What is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it.
Our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.
We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength.
And the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty.
No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old.
No animal in England is free.
The life of an animal is misery and slavery.
That is the plain truth." Now what three adjectives are used by Old Major to describe the lives of the animals? What can you tell me? That's right.
He says they are miserable.
So he says that the lives of the animals are miserable, laborious, and short.
Laborious means full of hard work.
Let's move on.
And he then goes on to say, "But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it? No, comrades.
1,000 times no.
The soil of England is fertile.
Its climate is good.
It is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormously greater number of animals than now inhabit it.
This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, 20 cows, hundreds of sheep, and all of them living in a comfort and a dignity that are now almost beyond our imagining.
Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings." Now does Old Major think the suffering, the suffering experience by animals is inevitable? Inevitable means does it have to happen? Is it the only way it can be? And the answer is no.
He thinks the animal suffering is caused by human beings, not inevitable at all.
So let's move on.
"There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word.
Man.
Man is the only real enemy we have.
Remove man from the scene and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever." Now I wanna ask you this one question.
Why do you think a capital letter is used for the word man? Have a think.
Yeah, good answer.
It shows that human beings loom large in the exploitation of animals.
And that's actually also reinforced by the repetition of the word man.
Yeah, really good ideas.
Let's move on.
Quick check for understanding.
Which of the following statements is not true of Old Major's speech? Is it A, Old Major thinks that man is responsible for the sufferings of the farm animals? B, Old Major predicts when the revolution will happen.
C, Old Major describes the suffering of animals in graphic terms. D, Old Major asks several rhetorical questions to emphasise his points.
Which one of those is not true? You can pause the video while you have a think, and then tell me what you think it is.
What did you think? It's B.
He is sure that it will happen, but he does not predict when.
All the others are true.
Very well done.
Let's move on.
I hope you liked reading that speech and listening to me read that speech.
It is a fantastic piece of rhetoric.
And what we are gonna do now is look at how he uses logos, ethos, and pathos in the speech, and not just how he uses them, why they're effective.
We're gonna start with logos.
We're gonna start by finding a quotation.
So this one, "The soil of England is fertile.
Its climate is good.
This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, 20 cows, hundreds of sheep." So we are looking and why is this effective? Well, he refers to environmental factors like soil and weather.
And that convinces us that the farm is a good one.
It is logical to think that good soil and good weather would make the farm a good farm.
And then he numbers how many animals could thrive on that farm, which reinforces his point.
And these facts and figures are convincing.
They convince the listener that Old Major has done his research.
Okay, well done.
So I'm gonna give you two grids.
This one is for ethos.
You are going to find quotes for ethos, and then you're gonna explain the effect.
And there's also one for pathos.
And you're gonna find quotations and explain the effect.
So when you are ready, pause the video.
And I look forward to seeing you when the work is done and seeing what your ideas are.
Off you go.
Well done.
Welcome back.
That was great.
I really like the way you kept going over the speech and you have found brilliant quotations to support the identification of ethos and pathos.
So you might have done something like this.
That for ethos, you might have found these quotes.
"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night," and that, "I have had a long life.
I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall." And your comments on why that is effective are really interesting.
He's confident that people have talked about his dream and that indicates that he is important.
And he's had a long life and we associate old age with wisdom, and that implies that he has expertise.
And he's had much time for thought, which suggests that his ideas will be insightful and developed.
Really brilliant.
Well done.
What did you say for pathos? So you might have written something like this.
"That we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty." That's a fantastic quote.
"The life of an animal is misery and slavery." Good choice.
And why are they effective? Well, they are very emotive words.
Slaughtered, cruelty, misery.
They evoke in us feelings of horror and compassion.
And that one word slavery.
Well, that makes us angry about the injustice and immorality of the treatment that the animals receive.
Brilliant work.
I'm very, very impressed.
Well done.
Let's move on.
We're doing really well in today's lesson.
We've looked at Aristotle's triad.
We've looked at how it's used in a speech, and now you are gonna practise using it in your own writing.
Now the Oak pupils have actually had the opportunity already to practise using Aristotle's triad.
And they were inspired by Old Major's speech to write about animals in the environment.
And this is what Alex wrote.
He wrote, "Just like us, animals and the countryside are part of the natural world.
It is important that we treat all aspects of nature with respect and consideration." And Izzy listened to his speech and then gave him some really interesting feedback.
She said, "It's a great statement, Alex, but it doesn't actually include elements of Aristotle's triad.
So let's check that we are crystal clear about what logos, ethos, and pathos are." I think that's a really good idea, Izzy.
So let's do that.
So let's have a quick check for understanding.
I would like you to match the words on the left, logos, ethos, and pathos, with the meanings on the right.
You can pause the video while you have a think.
So are you ready for me to reveal the correct answers? So logos.
Logos, appeals to logic and reasoning using facts and figures.
Ethos is the appeal to authority using experts and referring maybe to things like qualifications, and pathos is the appeal to feelings using emotive language.
Very well done.
Let's move on.
Now you are gonna use Aristotle's triad to write an inspiring speech.
You could follow Orwell's technique and use logos, ethos, and pathos in three separate paragraphs.
You could write about the following topics, animals in the environment like the Oak pupils did, social media, the importance of using your talents, school sports, or a topic of your choosing.
Please feel free to choose something that you really care about and which interests you.
The other suggestions are there to be supportive if you can't think of something right now.
Okay, so when you are ready, pause the video and off you go.
Well done.
Great focus.
It was wonderful to watch you doing that activity and really thinking about how you can use Aristotle's triad.
So just to have a quick check over your work.
Use these questions.
Have you used emotive language to make your readers feel specific feelings? You see, that would be an example of using pathos.
And are there facts and figures in your writing? 'Cause that would be an example of logos.
And have you made it clear why your knowledge and experience is relevant and will give you authority on this topic? And that would be an example of ethos.
So take a little bit of time to check over your work and when you are ready, we'll move on.
So before we say goodbye, I'm going to summarise what you have been learning today.
Aristotle was an influential ancient Greek philosopher who lived between 384 BCE to 322 BCE.
Aristotle wrote about politics, rhetoric, and logic.
Aristotle's triad consists of logos, ethos, and pathos.
Logos is the appeal to logic and reason.
Ethos is the appeal to authority and credibility, and pathos is the appeal to emotion.
And Aristotle's triad is very important when planning persuasive writing, or rhetorical writing, as he would've called it.
And you've already proved that you understand that and that you can do that.
So very well done for your attention to your learning today.
So I'd like to thank you for coming.
I'd like to thank you for your hard work.
I wish you a wonderful rest of the day, and I look forward to seeing you in another lesson about writers taking a stand.
Bye for now.