Forms of appeal

Logos

When using logos, the writer appeals to readers’ reason by giving them logical arguments, facts, and statistics that support his case. In Blecher's article, logos is less prevalent than the other two forms of appeal (see below), but he does use it a few times. For example, Blecher uses statistics to support his claim that diners are generally in decline: “There are roughly half as many as there were 20 years ago, according to records from the health department.” (ll. 22-23)

However, Blecher also brings in statistics to show that some diners still remain popular and successful, supporting his argument that there is still a clear demand for diner culture in US society, and that it is still possible to run a profitable diner: “…Frank, and Fotios Hilas own the Metro along with three other diners. They calculated that the Metro poured about 700 cups of coffee, made 150 hamburgers and used over 1,200 eggs every day.” (ll. 67-69). 

Ethos

Ethos is an appeal to authority, meaning the writer presents himself and other people he mentions in the article as credible, knowledgeable, or caring.

In the article, Blecher borrows ethos from experts who have studied the importance of diners: “ ‘T...