Forms of appeal

Ronald Reagan uses all three main forms of appeal in his “Evil Empire” speech, a choice that makes his arguments sound convincing and rational. 

Logos

In his speech, Reagan predicts the collapse of totalitarianism and, implicitly, of the Soviet Union: “the march of freedom and democracy (…) will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history”. To support his idea, he talks about some of the faults and failures of the Soviet Union:

The dimensions of this failure are astounding: a country which employs one-fifth of its population in agriculture is unable to feed its own people. Were it not for the private sector, the tiny private sector tolerated in Soviet agriculture, the country might be on the brink of famine.

In this example, Reagan uses reason...