E + L + P = M

Being a nutrition major, I chose an article about the importance of maintaining a healthy weight, a topic that is currently on the minds of many Americans. Because the article was written by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the ethos or credibility of the article speaks for itself. The CDC is widely renowned for its articles that are based on cutting-edge research with tons of references and resources to back it up. As for the article’s logos (appeal to logic), the argument made about calories in versus calories out makes perfect sense. In addition, because individuals are unique in size, age and activity level, the idea that each person has a right number of calories to eat each day is a very logical statement. There was not much pathos (appeal to emotion) in this article, which I thought was a good choice since the CDC is known for their factual information. There was, however, a comment about “becoming a healthier you” which was effective, but not over-the-top emotion.

Comparing and contrasting this article to Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail and the speakers we had present in class, it is evident that the art of persuasion can come in many different forms. MLK’s letter is one of the best examples of rhetoric. The way he was able to blend pathos, logos and ethos together makes it almost impossible to find a sentence in the entire document without at least two of the 3 aspects. For example, when MLK writes about Adolf Hitler and the Hungarian freedom fighters, he is appealing to all of the emotion that comes with these two titles. Also, he is increasing his credibility by showing the extent of his knowledge.

As for the guest speaker we had in class, their appeal to ethos came when they introduced themselves and talked about their experiences within the Army. They also used logic in their persuasion when they spoke about how the Army could pay back the massive amount of loans that are common to college students.

Overall, I thought MLK’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail was by far the most effective piece of persuasion out of the three, but as stated before, the art of persuasion can come in many different forms.

And if you didn't get the title before, it stands for Aristotle's Theory: Ethos + Logos + Pathos = Message

CDC "Healthy Weight" article: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/nutrition_for_everyone/healthy_weight/index.htm