Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example for Free

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Aristotle’s two magnificent Children: Ethos the Spiritual Motivator, and Logos the Blunt Persuader Among the multiple appeals from Aristotle, there lies rhetorical analysis. Applying Aristotle’s appeals to present day advertisements breaks down all the aspects and qualities of each advertisement, thus identifying motive behind the color scheme to the emotion or lack of, behind the script. There are two different types of styles of writing that I’m going to talk about in this paper, Ethos and Logos. In this specific ad, there are examples of Pathos and Ethos used in order to have a successful advertisement. â€Å"Rhetorical approaches are concerned with the use of reason in efforts to persuade an audience, but not only with reason: they also consider the personal qualities, characteristics and skills of speakers† (Ellis). After looking at the ad for a long time and analyzing it, it’s clear that Figure Weight Loss means business. In this paper I am going to focus on the different aspects of Ethos and Logos and how they apply to the ad itself in broad terms, a side story of a girl named Shannon, and their three keen promises to make it safe, effective, and affordable for each client. In literary terms, Ethos can be referred to as a spirit that motivates ideas and customs, and it could also be traced back to times of economic change in ancient Palestine. In other literary terms, Logos means that you as the writer are persuading through reasoning. Even though that the advertisement isn’t a big one and is in a small reach magazine, it still packs a tremendous amount of meaning. When I was flipping through magazines I was getting bored because nothing was really eye appealing that’s when I decided to open up a Reach magazine because they usually have something or some things that are appealing and fun to look at. I was almost done flipping through the pages and I saw my two most favorite colors combined in such a unique way I didn’t even care what the ad was about, I stopped. Tying in with ethos, the advertisement the three physicians at the bottom right hand corner look serious and they give that sort of sense that it is okay to come to their place because they mean business and they know what to do. Tying logos to the advertisement is easy; the people at Figure Weight Loss offer an $89 first visit and free medication for the whole first month, that sounds like some good reasoning to me. â€Å"By Aristotle the systematic and technical definitions and uses of persuasion in both texts are analyzed in depth. Parallels are then drawn between the categories of persuasion used in the two texts and Aristotles philosophical categories of ethos and logos† (Kraus). The logic and reasonable qualities of the advertisement associate with Shannon, I would say if Shannon could do it then I can, but I’ve already lost 35 pounds in less than two months. However if Shannon and I can do this, anyone can. The story about Shannon is unclear, it just shows her on the ad and says that she lost 52 pounds. It doesn’t say what she weighed when she came in or her weight when she came out. However she still dropped the weight on the system created by Medical Doctors Raimi Carrigan, Robert Grober, and Greg Weckenbrock. Shannon was probably a regular woman that was overweight and went out to search for a solace. Shannon probably heard about this through a friend or went snooping around. Anyway Shannon found the spirit that ethos provides and felt motivated enough to consult a experienced physician and get started on their program to lose weight, and to become a better person. Logos can be applied because, Shannon was persuaded not only by the doctors at Figure Weight Loss, but she was also being persuaded by herself to get her life back on track†¦ and she did. â€Å"You make a choice in your life, and it affects you life in all the ways, good and bad† (Mayer). At their location in Edgewood Kentucky, the Medical Doctor’s basically have a 3-bullet point insurance policy. They ensure that their work and style is very safe, very effective, and rather light on the wallet. They also claim that you will see immediate results, they claim that they have been the best group for weight loss since 1999, and that they have the best-certified, and best trained physicians specializing in weight loss. â€Å"Physicians endorsed significantly more stringent weight loss goals for obese female patients than obese male patients. Regardless of patient gender, physician goals exceeded the 5–10% losses currently recommended† (Dutton). Ethos has a special place here because it takes the â€Å"safe, effective, and affordable† approach, and then brings it to real life. If you are on the wrong track like Shannon was, this ad should motivate you like it did her and get you where you need and want to be. Logos also has a special spot reserved here because if other companies aside from Proactive, Gillette, or Nike didn’t have famous people endorsing them like Carrie Underwood, Clay Matthews, or Tiger Woods, than those companies wouldn’t be as successful as they are now. I’m not saying that Figure Weight Loss has the potential to ever be as big as Nike is today, but they have Shannon, a living example of Figure Weight Losses’ success. Among the multiple appeals from Aristotle, there lies rhetorical analysis. Applying Aristotle’s appeals to present day advertisements breaks down all the aspects and qualities of each advertisement, thus identifying motive behind the color scheme to the emotion or lack of, behind the script. â€Å"Rhetorical Analysis can play in helping students to develop their knowledge and awareness about writing and in transferring their knowledge about writing to different tasks and contexts both in and out of the classroom† (Graff). Ethos and Logos come in all different shapes and sizes. Ethos motivates you through spirit and good will, while Pathos states real and actual facts that can persuade you to do great things. Works Cited Dutton, Garreth R. Comparison of Physician Weight Loss Goals for Obese Male and Female Patients. Ed. Perry G. Michael and Cutis C. Stine. EBSCO Host, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. Ellis, Jaye. Law and the Limits of Reason: Rhetorical Approaches to Self-Determination and the Use of Force. EBSCO Host, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. Graff, Nelson. Teaching Rhetorical Analysis to Promote Transfer of Learning. Ebsco Host, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. Kraus, Manfred. How to Classify Means of Persuasion: The Rhetoric to Alexander and Aristotle on Pisteis. EBSCO Host, n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 29. Mayer, John C. John Mayer Quotes. BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.