Forms of appeal

Kevin Love’s essay “Everyone Is Going Through Something” mostly relies on ethos and pathos, though there are also a few examples of logos. It may be relevant to discuss all the forms of appeal when you focus on how the writer engages the reader.

Logos

While logos is not the main form of appeal in Love’s essay, he does make strategic use of it to support some of his points.

For example, pointing out that something is illogical or inconsistent is a way of appealing to logos. We see this strategy when Love observes that many professional sports teams are completely obsessive when it comes to their players’ fitness and physical health, while at the same time neglecting their mental health:

But it’s kind of strange when you think about it. In the NBA, you have trained professionals to fine-tune your life in so many areas. Coaches, trainers and nutritionists have had a presence in my life for years. But none of those people could help me in the way I needed. (ll. 67-69)

This observation makes Love’s criticism of the sports world more convincing, because it points out that it is illogical to completely neglect an aspect of the players’ health that can potentially have dramatic effects on their p...