Ethos: Building Credibility

Identify how writers establish trustworthiness through expertise, shared values, and fairness.

Ethos is the appeal to the speaker's character and credibility. Audiences are more likely to accept an argument from someone they trust. Writers build ethos in several ways: by establishing relevant expertise ('As a nurse who has worked twelve years in emergency care... '), by showing shared values with the audience ('Like many of you, I grew up in this town'), and by demonstrating fairness, for example by acknowledging opposing views accurately. Ethos can also be damaged: errors, insults, and obvious exaggeration make a speaker seem careless or biased.

Consider an original example: 'I have coached this team for eight seasons, and I have argued for longer practices before. Today I am asking for the opposite, because the injury reports have changed my mind. ' The speaker's experience establishes expertise, and admitting a change of mind signals honesty, which strengthens ethos further. When analyzing ethos, ask not only 'is this person credible? ' but 'how does the text make them seem credible? '

• 1Ethos appeals to the speaker's credibility.
• 2Built through expertise, shared values, and fairness.
• 3Damaged by errors, insults, and exaggeration.