Forms of appeal

In this part of the study guide, we will focus on the main forms of appeal used by Michelle Obama in her Democratic National Convention speech in 2016.

Forms of appeal are the strategies used by speakers to make their message more…

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Logos

Michelle Obama uses logos when she employs logical facts and arguments to convince her audience. For instance, she uses logos when she explains the reasons why she trusts Hillary Clinton as a future president: “See, I trust Hillary to lead this country because I've seen her lifelong devotion to our nation's children — not just her own daughter, who sh…

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Pathos

Pathos is employed in Michelle Obama’s speech when she stirs emotions in her audience. First, she creates the feeling of nostalgia and admiration when she talks about Barack Obama’s presidency:

You know, it's hard to believe that it has been eight years since I first came to this convention to talk with you about why I thought my husband should be President. Remember how I told you about his character and conviction, his decency and his grace — the traits that we've seen every day that he's ser…