Importance of Ethos: An appeal from credibility reinforces the writer's message and enhances the writer's image as a trustworthy person.
two types of ethos
Extrinsic:
credibility that the writer originally has |
Intrinsic:
credibility that the writer develops within the argument Ways of creating an effective intrinsic Ethos: being knowledgeable about the issue, being fair to alternative views, building a bridge to your audience, and demonstrating professionalism in the argument |
Extrinsic ethos in supersize meMorgan Spurlock directs and stars in this documentary that examines the effects of fast foods on the health and well being of an individual. In 1993, he graduated from New York's University's Tisch of the Arts with a degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in film. He was a playwright before he filmed this documentary (Spurlock). Based on his background, Spurlock does not have a strong extrinsic ethos to effectively convey his message because he only has an experience with films and plays. His documentary ventures into the field of public health, politics, and medicine. Spurlock's lack of knowledge and expertise in these fields weaken his conclusions that he draws at the end of the documentary.
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Intrinsic ethos in supersize meIn the documentary, Spurlock tries to convey his knowledge about the issue of obesity and its effect on general population by stating that obesity has become second preventable death in United States because 400,000 people die with related obesity illness every year (SuperSize Me). Even though Spurlock presents this data, he does not specify the details, implications, or sources about it. This lack of support for his data undermines his credibility as the director because the viewers develop doubts about the extent of his knowledge on this topic. Because Spurlock is too focused on presenting his message in the documentary, he completely fails to acknowledge the alternative views. Spurlock mentions that people's consumption of fast food has increased drastically from the result of the expansion in fast food industry (SuperSize Me). But, he does not considered the pragmatic reasons that force families to seek out fast food diet instead of healthy, home-cooked diet. Spurlock's credibility as a director is greatly tarnished from the lack of acknowledgement to alternative views because his action portrays him as a myopic individual who might not have a complete understanding of this complex issue. Building a bridge to audiences, Spurlock is able to reclaim some of his credibility because all of his reasons for the claim are related to negative impacts on health and wellbeing of an individual. Spurlock's targeted audience, the general public, shares the same value, belief, and principle about one's health with him. So, he has effective warrant that is able to increase the soundness of his argument and the ethos as a director. Spurlock overall has a lot of weaknesses in extrinsic and intrinsic ethos that overshadow the positive aspects of the documentary. Because Spurlock fails to appear as a credible and reliable director, his message becomes lost in the translation for the viewers.
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National Institutes of Health informs general public about novel biomedical research. The well-known scientists in the NIH reinforce the information that it releases to build the public's trust in the institution.
Albert Einstein has strong credibility due to his reputation and discovery that he makes in physics. His credibility allows him to attract any reader's attention and effectively conveys his message.