Chapter 8: Critical Thinking and Logos

Logos was introduced in the previous chapter. In this chapter, we will further your knowledge of what it means to appeal to the audience’s sense of reason or logic. Persuasion is a tricky rhetorical practice, and often students fall into pitfalls while creating their arguments. One of the most common pitfalls is called fallacies. Fallacies are claims or statements that sound true but are either false or only half-truths. No matter what kind, fallacies make your argument invalid. They can be the difference between persuading an audience and alienating an audience. This section will examine two things needed to build logos into your speech, critical thinking and using support to create strong arguments. Lastly, this section will introduce you to the most common fallacies and demonstrate how they are used in error. It is important to learn how to avoid these common mistakes so that your persuasion strategy is ethical and convincing. Once you have written your speech, you will need to review your work and activity look for fallacies you have committed so that you can edit your argument and create a stronger logos appeal.