Logos

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What is logos?

Simply put, logos is communicators’ use of logical arguments to persuade an audience. Examples include hard evidence, facts, statistics, surveys and polls, and narratives. When there are no hard facts, communicators might rely on reason and common sense. You don’t need to look far to spot logos—writers use it all the time.

Some strategies for appealing to logos: 

• Common sense (e.g., When you are hungry, you go to the kitchen instead of the bedroom to look for food.)
• Deductive reasoning (e.g., More students use online appointments at the TTU Writing Center when the weather is bad. It is going to snow tomorrow. Therefore, most of the appointments will be online.)
• Effective use of source information and hard facts (e.g., The number of children participating in basketball camps increased 15% last summer. Therefore, the parks and rec. department should increase the number of coaches it hires next summer in preparation for more growth.) Communicators may use such information to support a point they are making. Think of this as “calling in the reinforcements.”

Be a wary reader! Not all arguments are logical or based on fact. Authors might be biased, try to manipulate facts, or present an argument without proof. It is also possible the communicator simply did not consider the counterpoints of an argument, which turns out to be a weakness. Challenge what you read or watch by critically examining the logic of the information.

A logical appeal:

In March 2019, the TTU men’s basketball team made it to the NCAA National Championship. That fall, theundergraduate enrollment at TTU was at an all-time high of 32,125 students. When the men’s basketball team does well, the whole university benefits. Therefore, Tech should invest more money in men’s basketball.

Analysis: While the claim that enrollment went up after the National Championship is true, a look at a longer period shows enrollment usually has an upward trend every fall, regardless of the basketball team’s performance. Therefore, the author’s use of logos was only partially effective because it did not consider all the information or factors affecting enrollment.

A key takeaway is this: Appeals to logos can come in many forms, but effective claims should always be based in fact or reason. Also, claims that appeal to logos should be verifiable through research, experimentation, or logical deduction.