Rhetorical Analysis Of Gary Slutkin's TED Talk

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When crafting an argument an author must find a way to appeal to their audience. The three different types of rhetorical appeals are ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is the appeal to ethics, pathos is the appeal to emotion, and logos is the appeal to logic. By using one, two, or all of these appeals, an author can better convince an audience of his/her claims. In Gary Slutkin’s TED Talk, he used all three rhetorical appeals. Slutkin, within the first minute of his lecture, states that he is a trained physician in infectious diseases. This statement immediately shows the audience his ethos. The audience now has a better understanding of who their speaker is and why they should trust him. Slutkin, later on, describes the situation he was experiencing with …show more content…

This triangle includes the audience, purpose, and author. Slutkin used all three of these aspects in his lecture. Throughout his entire lecture, Slutkin had a purpose. His purpose was to inform the public that violence can be treated like a contagious disease. Slutkin never strayed from his purpose and always kept the audience’s focus. In order for a speaker to have a good argument, they must know their audience to some extent. Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz explain this well by saying that, “most arguments are composed with specific audiences in mind, and their success depends, in part, on how well their strategies, content, tone, and language meet the expectations of that audience” (96). Slutkin got his audience to trust him and laugh with him throughout his lecture. This laughter is a huge part of using the right language for a particular audience. While introducing himself in the beginning of the lecture established ethos, it also helped Slutkin introduce himself, as an author to the audience. Being established as another actual person with a purpose makes the audience more inclined to listen and believe Slutkin’s

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