Everyone in Grade 7 is switching to this study app, so it must be the best way to learn.
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.
Maine Learning Results learning standard: Reading 10; Speaking and Listening 2 · persuasive appeals and logical fallacies
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Ethos appeals to credibility (trust me, I’m an expert). Pathos appeals to emotion. Logos appeals to logic, facts and numbers.
- Fallacies are weak reasoning: bandwagon (everyone does it), false cause, slippery slope (one step leads to disaster).
- 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 Maine
In the Maine Learning Results, 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.
- 7th grade guide for Maine parents
- Printable 7th grade English Language Arts sheet
- Maine report cards explained
Source: Maine Department of Education
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which logical fallacy does this argument use?
- False cause
- Bandwagon
- Either-or (false dilemma)
- Slippery slope
- Attacking the person (ad hominem)
Bandwagon
Hint: Saying “everyone is doing it” isn't proof that something is good. That's the bandwagon fallacy.
Question 2
Which is the strongest evidence for this claim?
Our school should start a recycling program.
- Everyone recycles at home, so we should too.
- Last year our school sent 4 tonnes of paper to the landfill, enough to fill a classroom.
- My teacher recycles his bottles.
- Recycling is cool.
Last year our school sent 4 tonnes of paper to the landfill, enough to fill a classroom.
Hint: Specific numbers that show a real problem are stronger than opinions or “everyone” claims.
Question 3
Which logical fallacy does this argument use?
Everyone in our grade already has the new game. You should get it too.
- Bandwagon
- Attacking the person (ad hominem)
- Slippery slope
- False cause
Bandwagon
Hint: “Everyone has it” isn't a reason it's good. Telling people to join the crowd is the bandwagon fallacy.
Question 4
Which persuasive technique is used here?
We will learn. We will grow. We will succeed together.
- Repetition
- Statistic
- Counterargument
- Expert opinion
Repetition
Hint: Notice “We will” three times. Repeating words makes an idea memorable and powerful.
Question 5
Which persuasive technique is used here?
Do we really want our children breathing dirty air every day?
- Statistic
- Rhetorical question
- Expert opinion
- Personal anecdote
Rhetorical question
Hint: The speaker doesn't expect an answer; the answer is obvious. That's a rhetorical question.
Question 6
Which logical fallacy does this argument use?
I met two rude drivers today, so all the drivers in this city must be rude.
- Slippery slope
- Hasty generalization
- False cause
- Attacking the person (ad hominem)
- Bandwagon
Hasty generalization
Hint: Two examples aren't enough to say something about everyone. That's a hasty generalization.