On AppealEthos, pathos, logos, one thesis, your words
Paper length0 words, target 500 to 700
500700
In-text citation for this article: ( ). Put it after any quote or paraphrase.
One sentence that the whole paper has to prove. Name the article, say which appeals the writer leans on, and say whether they work for the reader the article is aimed at. Take a side.
One sentence
Names the article or its author
Names at least one appeal (ethos, pathos, logos)
Takes a side (effective, ineffective, works for X but not Y)
Roughly 80 to 120 words.
Open on something true and specific about the article, not about autism in general
Give the title, the author, where it ran, and what it argues in one or two sentences
End on your thesis
Ethos is trust. Why should the reader believe this writer?
Who wrote it and who published it? What credentials are shown or implied?
Which experts, studies, or organizations get named? Where?
Does the tone sound fair, careful, one-sided?
Does it work on the intended reader, or only on you?
A full paragraph does four things: makes a claim, shows the evidence with a citation, explains how it works on the reader, ties back to the thesis.
Pathos is feeling. Where does the article try to make the reader feel something?
Word choice: "harmful," "gold standard," "hurting themselves," "gains"
Stories, examples, images of children or parents
What feeling is it counting on: hope, fear, guilt, relief?
Is the feeling earned by the facts, or doing the work the facts should do?
Claim, evidence with citation, how it works on the reader, back to the thesis.
Logos is reasoning. What facts, numbers, studies, and cause-and-effect does the writer use?
Are the studies named, or is it "studies show"?
Do the numbers come with a source? (hours per week, ages, percentages)
Does the logic hold: does the evidence actually support the claim it sits under?
What is left out that a careful reader would want?
Claim, evidence with citation, how it works on the reader, back to the thesis.
Roughly 60 to 100 words.
Restate the thesis in new words, now that it has been proved
Which appeal carried the article, and which one was weakest?
One sentence on what that means for the reader the article was written for
No new evidence here
Built from section 01 in MLA 9 form: author, title in quotes, site, date, web address, date you read it. Edit it if your class wants something different; the button puts it back.
Add more entries on new lines if you cite a second source.
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