Question

read this passage from an indian father’s plea:
millions of dollars have been appropriated by congress
each year for \indian education.\ all you have to do is
encourage your school to use these resources. my indian
child has a constitutional right to learn and maintain his
culture. by the same token, i believe that non-indian
children have a constitutional right to learn about our
native american heritage and culture, because indians
play a significant part in the history of western society.
which statement best explains the type of appeal the author is using in this
passage?

a. by offering vivid descriptions that evoke a strong emotion from
the audience, the author is making an appeal to ethos.

b. by appealing to the teacher’s emotions and asking for fair
treatment, the author is making an appeal to logos.

c. by referring to respected institutions like congress and the
constitution, the author is making an appeal to ethos.

d. by using facts and evidence from the u.s. constitution to support
his arguments, the author is making an appeal to pathos.

Explanation:

• Analyze Option A: Ethos is about credibility/ethics, not vivid descriptions (which relate to pathos). Also, the passage doesn't have vivid descriptions, so A is wrong.
• Analyze Option B: Logos is about logic/facts, and appealing to emotions is pathos. So B misidentifies the appeal type, wrong.
• Analyze Option C: Ethos appeals to credibility/authority. Referring to Congress (a respected institution) and the Constitution (a respected legal document) builds credibility for the author's argument about educational rights, so this fits ethos.
• Analyze Option D: Pathos is emotional appeal, and using the Constitution is about authority (ethos) or logic (logos), not pathos. Also, the passage doesn't use "facts and evidence from the Constitution" in a logos - like (logical argument) way here, it's about rights (ethical/authoritative appeal), so D is wrong.

Answer:

C. By referring to respected institutions like Congress and the Constitution, the author is making an appeal to ethos.