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7th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 13

Persuasive Power

Ethos, pathos, logos and fallacies

What your child practices

Identifying appeals to credibility, emotion and logic; spotting weak reasoning like bandwagon, false cause and slippery slope; and judging which evidence and rebuttals are strongest.

Alaska content standards learning standard: RI.7.8; SL.7.3 · persuasive appeals and logical fallacies

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Ethos appeals to credibility (trust me, I’m an expert). Pathos appeals to emotion. Logos appeals to logic, facts and numbers.
  2. Fallacies are weak reasoning: bandwagon (everyone does it), false cause, slippery slope (one step leads to disaster).
  3. The strongest evidence is specific, relevant and from a reliable source.

Example: A speaker mentions years of coaching experience so the audience will trust their advice. Which appeal is this? The speaker is building trust, not using feelings or numbers. Trust in the speaker is credibility. Answer: Ethos (credibility)

Persuasive Power in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 3 of 13 in 7th grade English Language Arts, after Tone & Mood and before Clauses & Sentences.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which logical fallacy does this argument use?

    Millions of people use this app, so it must be the best one.

    • Attacking the person (ad hominem)
    • Bandwagon
    • False cause
    • Either-or (false dilemma)

  2. Question 2

    Which logical fallacy does this argument use?

    Ever since the new principal arrived, it has rained more often. The principal must be bringing bad weather.

    • Bandwagon
    • Attacking the person (ad hominem)
    • Slippery slope
    • False cause

  3. Question 3

    Which logical fallacy does this argument use?

    If we let students pick their own seats, soon they'll want to pick every rule, and the school will fall into chaos.

    • Attacking the person (ad hominem)
    • False cause
    • Bandwagon
    • Slippery slope
    • Either-or (false dilemma)

  4. Question 4

    Which persuasive appeal does this mostly use?

    As a lifeguard who has trained swimmers for fifteen years, I urge every family to sign up for lessons.

    • Logos (logic and evidence)
    • Pathos (emotion)
    • Ethos (credibility)

  5. Question 5

    Which logical fallacy does this argument use?

    Everyone in Grade 7 is switching to this study app, so it must be the best way to learn.

    • Attacking the person (ad hominem)
    • Bandwagon
    • False cause
    • Either-or (false dilemma)
    • Slippery slope

  6. Question 6

    Which logical fallacy does this argument use?

    Everyone in our grade already has the new game. You should get it too.

    • False cause
    • Slippery slope
    • Bandwagon
    • Attacking the person (ad hominem)

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