College Composition / Unit 28 CMP 0687 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Purpose Shapes the Appeal
Captions available
The idea
The writer's purpose, whether to inform, persuade or move to action, shapes which appeals dominate.
In practice
A call to action often leans on pathos and kairos to create urgency; a policy report leans on logos and the ethos of its sources.
Where people slip
An appeal that fits one purpose can undermine another, such as heavy emotion in a report meant to seem objective.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
- Nothing yet depends on this.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for College Composition