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Year 8 · English · Speeches and rhetoric · Lesson 2

Ethos, pathos and logos

Ethos, pathos and logos in famous speeches by Elizabeth I at Tilbury (1588) and suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst (1913).

Whiteboard video lesson: Ethos, pathos and logos

20-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

Watch free for a month

What your child will learn

  • Define ethos, pathos and logos
  • Analyse Elizabeth I's Tilbury speech
  • Analyse Pankhurst's military metaphor
  • Write sentences using each appeal

The method

  1. Decide: ethos, pathos or logos.
  2. Quote the words.
  3. Name the device.
  4. Explain how it persuades this audience.

Key words: ethos, pathos, logos, contrast, metaphor, rule of three, suffragette.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

What does ‘ethos’ mean?

  1. Step 1: Persuading through the speaker's character or authority

Answer: Trust in the speaker

Question 2

What does ‘pathos’ mean?

  1. Step 1: Persuading through emotions

Answer: Appeal to emotions

Question 3

What does ‘logos’ mean?

  1. Step 1: Persuading through logic, facts and reasons

Answer: Appeal to logic