In teaching each of the rhetorical appeals, I like for students to be able to complete in class, either in groups or individually, a small sample rhetorical analysis. For teaching ethos, I like to have students analyze resumes for a particular job listing to help them practice analysis, but also to indicate some of the “real world” applications for this material.

For this activity, I usually begin class with a discussion of what ethos means and how to look for it in analysis, with a few small examples to go over together. Afterwards, I have students divide up into their groups for the semester. I give each student a copy of the job listing and the resumes of the three job candidates. After reading through the job listing, I have students analyze each of the three resumes for appeals to ethos. Then, as a group, they have to determine which candidate they would hire, citing appeals to ethos as supporting evidence for their decision.