Abstract

Newspaper editorials are persuasive pieces of writing that express the opinion of the paper on specific issues. This study examines the use of Aristotle’s persuasive appeals in the editorials of the Daily Graphic newspaper published in Ghana. The three persuasive appeals: pathos, ethos and logos were constituted into a framework for the analysis of the editorials. A total of 36 editorials were selected for the study using constructed week sampling; a type of stratified random sampling which involves the collection of news text one day per week in order to get a representative sample to account for variations in news content. The data collected covered six constructed weeks. The findings of the study revealed that the editorial writers of the paper use the three rhetorical appeals to persuade readers. The appeal to rationality (logos) is used to express the position of the paper on issues of national concern, appeal to government agencies to take important actions to resolve national issues and persuade readers to support the opinion of the paper. The credibility (logos) appeal is used to portray shared values between the writers and the readers to foster national unity. The emotional (pathos) appeal is evoked when the writers use words that depict how they feel about the issues under discussion. The paper concludes that the editorial writers of the Daily Graphic use the persuasive appeals to present the stance of the paper on issues of national concern and call on the citizenry for collective action towards unity and national development.

1. Introduction

For effective persuasion of an audience, Aristotle identifies three important persuasive appeals: logos (rational appeal) ethos (credibility appeal) and pathos (emotional appeal). These three appeals are known as rhetorical appeals and Aristotle defines rhetoric as an ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion ¹. Rhetoric is therefore a deliberate attempt to persuade an audience. A piece of writing that seeks to persuade employs these appeals.

Lackoff ² defines persuasion as the intention of one party to change the behaviour, feelings, intentions or viewpoint of another by communicative means and differentiates between persuasive discourse and ordinary conversation. This indicates that a piece of text that is persuasive is intentionally crafted to achieve a desired goal - to persuade the receivers of the text. Persuasion according to O’Keefe ( ³, p.4) is “a successful intentional effort at influencing another’s mental state through communication in a circumstance in which the persuadee has some measure of freedom.” Any text that is labelled as persuasive discourse is a kind of text that the writer intentionally use language to influence audience or receivers of the content of the text.

Certain types of discourse are therefore identified as persuasive discourse. Lackoff ² identifies advertising, propaganda, political rhetoric and religious sermons as texts that are clearly persuasive discourse. Halmari and Virtunen ⁴ noted that there are genres that are inherently persuasive and point out three genres in which persuasive language manifest prominently: advertising, political rhetoric and media discourse. A review of studies on persuasion indicates that advertising and political rhetoric have been extensively studied to understand how they persuade and the way they use the various appeals to persuade audience.

Persuasion in advertising has been studied from different perspectives. Some studies on the use of persuasion in advertising have focused on how persuasive appeals are used to drive consumer behaviour. Yan and Zhao ⁵ studied the use of rhetorical appeals in video advertisement in driving consumer behaviour while Garcia-Gomez ⁶ examined how persuasive practices in business are performed for an audience on television as Decock ⁷ studied interaction with consumers on social media using invitational rhetoric and Fuster-Marquez and Gregori-Signes ⁸ studied how conditional constructions are used to persuade consumers on the website of hotels. Some studies have also examined how persuasive appeals are strategically used in specific instances. Mangio et al. ⁹ analyzed how brands adapted their advertising strategies during the global pandemic of COVID-19 using emotive appeals to engage their audiences and Van Herch et al. ¹⁰ investigated how companies use persuasive appeals in handling customer complaints in private but avoid dealing with complaints in public. The effect of persuasive appeals on consumers has also been investigated. Aristotle’s modes of persuasion have been used to examine trustworthiness and usefulness perceptions of online review of products in marketing communication ¹¹. Hornik et al. ¹² investigated message appeals in communication campaigns and found that emotional appeals, usually sex and humour create higher impact on audience than rational appeals.

Political discourse has also been studied extensively with a focus on how it is used to persuade voters and how politicians use their messages to mobilise or influence citizens in specific ways. There is considerable evidence that political discourse persuades. Zinn and Manfredo ¹³ measured voting behaviour after exposure to persuasive appeals and found that one-sided appeals influenced voting behaviour for the desired goal. Dewan et al. ¹⁴ also concluded that political campaigns persuade voters. Schubet ¹⁵ analyzed the relationship between words and images in televised political campaign advertisement and pointed out that multimodal texture contributes to the dominant persuasive function of political discourse and Martikainen and Sakki ¹⁶ also concluded that a combination of mythical, biblical and rhetorical devices create a multimodal political communication that appeal to the emotions of the public and help in mobilizing people. Adegoju ¹⁷ examined the messages used by the Government of Nigeria in re-branding the image of the country and found artful use of persuasive discourse in the messages. There is also a considerable number of studies on the use of persuasion in the speeches of political leaders. Recent studies with a focus on persuasion in the speeches of political leaders have examined the use of persuasion in the political speeches used by political leaders in handling the COVID-19 pandemic ^{18, 19, 20}.

Some studies too have touched on persuasion in media discourse revealing how media discourse is used to persuade. How mass media texts project particular attitudes, beliefs and expectations onto the reader have been explored. Afzal et al. ²¹ observes that persuasion in media discourse tends to mobilize public attitudes in a certain direction. The various appeals used in media discourse are intended to solicit public support for a particular viewpoint. Serafis and Herman ²² indicate that newspapers tend to have different positioning and interest but they all use discursive and emotional constructions in persuading readers. Varma ²³ examines how media discourse evokes empathy and solidarity in journalistic humanising techniques.

The use of persuasion has been studied in other types of discourse apart from advertising, political rhetoric and media discourse. Notable among them are fundraising texts, mission statements of organisations and letters. Connor and Gladkov ²⁴ used Aristotle’s persuasive appeals to analyze the effectiveness of fundraising discourse. Higgins and Walker ²⁵ examined the use of rhetorical appeals in social/environmental reports of three companies in New Zealand. Eryilmaz ²⁶ used the rhetorical appeals to analyze the vision statements of organizations. Clifton and Van De Mieroop ²⁷ applied the use of rhetorical appeals to meetings and Wang ²⁸ investigated rhetorical appeals used in the transcript of press conferences handling post-crisis communication.

One type of media genre that has been described as a persuasive piece of writing is the newspaper editorial. Though editorials have been described as persuasive writing, not much studies have been done on them in terms of analysing how they use persuasive appeals. This study investigates the use of logos, ethos and pathos in the editorials of the Daily Graphic which is the most widely circulated national newspaper to persuade the reading public in Ghana. The aim of the study is to identify how the paper uses persuasive appeals in the socio-cultural and political setting in which it is located. Belmonte ( ²⁹, p. 5) emphasizes the need to “unravel the culturally based rhetorical influences presented in editorials as persuasive texts.” The paper highlights what newspaper editorials are and then analyze how the persuasive appeals are used. First, the paper explains what newspaper editorials are and how they have been studied. Secondly, the theoretical framework used for the analysis of the editorials is presented. The analysis and the results are then presented and how the appeals are used is discussed. The last section of the paper is the conclusion of the study.

2. Newspaper Editorials

Connor ( ³⁰, p. 144) observes that “good editorials are considered some of the best examples of persuasive writing in all countries; they set the standard for written persuasion.” Newspaper editorials present writers’ opinion on current social, political, economic or legal issues with the intention of persuading readers to agree with the opinion or the standpoint of the newspaper. Editorials are regarded as powerful persuasive writings that reflect the views of the newspaper. The editorial writers ought to provide information in the form of figures, statistics, examples and details to develop the opinion being presented. The editorial writers must advance arguments and challenge opposing views and appeal to readers to accept the position advanced by the paper.

Singh and Singh ³¹ point out that a good editorial should teach, transform, motivate to action without being dictatorial and enlighten the public. It should make a reader hold on to the piece and retains his interest from the beginning to the end. Alfred ³² indicates that editorials present facts and view points in a manner that is pleasing in order to influence opinions. The intention of editorials is to persuade readers to perceive issues from the point of view of the editorial writers.

Editorials comment on recent events that are usually social, economic and political issues ²⁹. They express the position of the newspaper on current affairs ³³. The selection of one issue by editorials shows that the issue is important to be given extra space and therefore contribute to agenda setting and agenda building. Marques and Alverne ³⁴ examine what editorials are interested in and observe that professional rules and cultures shape how newspapers build their editorial position.

Orosa et al., ³³ emphasize that an editorial is a shaper of public opinion on current issues that are of interest to the readers. It deals with an issue in a manner that draws the public’s attention and shapes the public opinion. It expresses its position towards the actions of political actors and projects alternative views on the issues discussed. The Washington Post ⁵³ made reference to ancient Rome and indicated that modern editorials provide the kind of public forum in ancient Roman cities for debate and dialogue with its readers.

Newspaper editorials have been studied from several perspectives. They have been studied from lexico-grammatical, structural and discoursal-ideological perspectives. From the linguistic point of view, some studies have analyzed editorials and other opinion genres in newspapers ²⁹. Perhaps, the study of newspapers from the structural perspective is the most widespread. Studies have been conducted on the structure of editorials from the perspective of genre analysis to affirm the typical structure of editorials ^{35, 36}. Editorials have been studied from the point of view of how ideology is embedded in discourse. An example of studies that have investigated the use of ideology in editorials is Saft and Ohara ³⁷ on how Japanese newspaper editorials used linguistic devices to foster the need for military action. Related to the ideological perspective of studying editorials is the analysis of the use of persuasive appeals in newspaper editorials; the focus of this study. The aim is to unravel how the editorials of the Daily Graphic newspaper use the appeals of logos, ethos and pathos to persuade the reading public in Ghana.

3. Theoretical Framework

Since genres vary in their communicative purpose, the operationalization of the rhetorical appeals for the analysis of text varies according to the type of text being analyzed. Burke ( ³⁸, p. 56) indicates that “acts, things, conditions, states of mind, personal characteristics which people consider promising or formidable” are all things that constitute “available means of persuasion.” Burke therefore provides a broad overview of elements that should be considered in designing a framework for rhetorical analysis. Aho ( ³⁹, p. 24) argues that different pieces of writing such as “betrothal letter, a forensic argument, a sermon, an obituary and a business proposal” are addressed to audiences who are very different and cannot follow what classical rhetoricians had spelt out about text composition. This further emphasizes the need to outline a framework suitable for the analysis of persuasive appeals in specific texts or genres.

When analyzing the persuasive appeals used in a particular piece of discourse or genre, researchers develop frameworks suitable for the analysis of the genre in question. For example, Connor and Gladkov ²⁴ developed a framework for the analysis of fundraising letters and Higgins and Walker ²⁵ developed a framework for the analysis of environmental reports. For the analysis of the editorials selected for this study, the framework developed is modelled along that of Connor and Gladkov ²⁴ and it covers the three Aristotelian appeals. The salient indices considered are drawn from what Aristotle considered as means of persuasion under each of the appeals. The specific indices considered for each appeal are presented in Table 1.

Rational arguments are developed to appeal to the sensible aspect of the readers’ mind. Aristotle emphasizes arguing by example. This involves the process of induction where the writer derives a general assumption from a particular case ⁴⁰. The basis of using example as a persuasive appeal is that readers are able to infer a general conclusion from the example given and therefore have a change of mind or get a viewpoint strengthened. Secondly, comparison and contrast is also used as a means of logical appeal by presenting two scenarios in order to establish the seriousness of an issue at hand. In newspaper editorials, comparison and contrast are used to show the gravity of the situation being written about ⁴¹. Using authority is another rational appeal to persuade audience. This is done by citing authoritative people or sources to support one’s argument. According to Perelman ⁴², the use of great names or great sources is a rhetorical power that can persuade people to commit great acts. The use of authority as a persuasive appeal is enhanced by presenting a model to be imitated by a reader ²⁴. Finally, according to Aristotle ⁴³, the appeal to cause and effect/consequence is used to urge the reader to take action by forecasting the end of actions taken or not taken. Aristotle argues that a given thing or situation has consequences both good and bad. Therefore, one may argue from this point.

Aristotle enumerates three things about writers or speakers that make them arouse credibility appeal to persuade audience: intelligence, virtue and good will ( ⁴³, p.32). These are qualities the writer or speaker should project in order to be persuasive. The intelligence of the writer is seen in the amount of information the writer has about the issue being written about that shows the writer’s knowledge and experience ⁴⁴. How intelligently the writer presents the issue at hand that makes audience recognize that he has the authority to deal with the topic or the issue in question is important ⁴⁵. In editorials, writers exhibit their authority by presenting the experience and knowledge that they have about the topic or the issues being dealt with. Secondly, writers or speakers must portray the virtue that shows they are sincere and honest in order to persuade audience. This shows in statements that seek to give assurance that the information provided is true. Such statements portray the writer as being genuine and real. Ethos is also exhibited through the attractiveness and friendliness of the writer to the audience. This is achieved by the writer establishing shared values with the reader. This enables audience to associate with the writer easily. For the purpose of analysing the editorials selected for this study, the three qualities of the writer are considered to manifest in displaying expert knowledge about the issues written about in the editorials, connecting with the readers, identifying with them and displaying shared values with them.

Aristotle points out that there is persuasion through the hearers when they are led to feel emotion and refers to emotions as feelings that change men to make their judgement different. ^{46, 47}. The emotions listed by Aristotle include anger/mildness, love/enmity, fear/lack of fear, shame/shamelessness, favour, pity, emulation and indignation. Connor and Gladkov ²⁴ identify three appeals that are used by writers to target the emotions of audience: appealing to audience’s view, using vivid picture and charged language. Appealing to audience’s view arouses their emotion by appealing to their attitude and moral values ²⁴. The use of vivid picture refers to making events spatially close to the audience. The point of view of Aristotle is that when suffering seems near to men, they feel pity but things that happened long ago, men cannot remember them and feel any pity. Appealing to the emotions of readers also involves the use of words that arouse strong feelings. Writers’ purpose is usually to appeal to the emotions of their readers. Writers therefore choose words that tend to evoke either negative or positive feelings of their readers. This kind of appeal to the emotions of the reader is reflected mainly in the writer’s choice of words that evoke the feeling of fear/sadness or happiness/joy ^{39, 48}.

4. Methodology

Constructed week sampling was used to collect data for the study. This is a type of stratified random sampling which involves the collection of news text one day per week for seven days from Monday to Sunday or for six days from Monday to Saturday. According to Hester and Dougall ⁴⁹, constructed week sampling accounts for a proper representation of variations in news content. Song and Chang ⁵⁰ posit that constructed week sampling has been found to be an efficient sampling method for selecting daily newspapers for content analysis.

Some studies have concluded that five to six constructed weeks constitute representative sample for a study that seeks to analyze media content. Hester and Dougall ⁴⁹ affirm that five constructed weeks of content should be sufficient to fairly represent variables that are being analyzed in a particular newspaper edition. Luke and Caburnary ⁵¹ suggest that a minimum of six constructed weeks of sampling accurately represent coverage of content under study. Six constructed weeks of data were collected for this study from (www.graphic.com.gh/mirror). This resulted in a total of 36 newspaper editorials for the study.

For the analysis of the data, the researcher/author engaged three PhD students who are conversant with rhetorical analysis as coders. The researcher identified the persuasive techniques that should be used for the analysis of the editorials selected for the study. The researcher discussed the persuasive techniques and the coding process with the coders. The three coders read through the newspaper editorials independently paying attention to the persuasive techniques in the texts. After the initial reading, the editorials were examined for the persuasive techniques considered in the framework for the analysis. They were noted and coded as rhetorical appeals of logos, ethos and pathos. The three coders re-read the editorials to identify the persuasive appeals in them.

The researcher met the three coders to compare the coded data. There were some differences in the interpretation and coding of the persuasive appeals. After a discussion with the three coders, the persuasive techniques used for the coding were fine-tuned. The coding of data by the three coders was refined and the persuasive techniques identified and coded into the three rhetorical appeals were counted to get the total instances of their use in the editorials analyzed. The percentages of the total cases of each appeal were calculated and presented as the findings of the study.

5. Results and Discussion

The results shown in Table 2 reveal that the persuasive tool that is most frequently used by the editorial writers is the rational appeal (59.95%) of the total number of the use of persuasive appeals identified in the 36 editorials analyzed. The use of rational appeal in editorials is envisaged since editorials present facts and opinions to influence readers to perceive issues from the point of view of the editorial writers. Logos appeal is the major rhetorical appeal used by the Daily Graphic to persuade readers. The use of ethos appeal (20.60%) in the editorials analyzed is the second highest appeal used by the paper. The emotional appeal or appeal to pathos (19.45%) is the least persuasive appeal used by the editorials of the Daily Graphic to persuade readers.

The appeal to rationality or the appeal to logos is used by the editorial writers to express the position of the paper. The editorial writers advance arguments that support the position of the paper and why readers should consider that position as a better alternative with reference to the issue in question. The writers project the position of the paper as a mouthpiece of alternative ideas in dealing with issues of national or international concern. This is achieved by projecting the views being advanced as the voice of the paper. The editorial writers of the Daily Graphic do this to persuade readers to consider the stance taken by the paper as the ideal option or the option that is in the interest of the country or the citizenry. The use of rational appeal in this manner by the editorial writers of the Daily Graphic is in line with the emphasis drawn by Orosa et al. ³³ that editorials express the point of view of a newspaper on issues of interest to the public. The paper’s use of rational appeal to persuade readers to consider the opinion of the paper as the way out to the solution of an issue is done by presenting arguments that contradict their stance and argue to refute them to strengthen their position. By making reference to an existing view or argument before advancing the stance of the paper, readers can judge the argument that is more plausible. Examples of how the editorial writers of the Daily Graphic use rational appeal to state the position of the paper are shown in the extracts below.

But for us at the Daily Graphic, it is our conviction that reviewing the recruitment of …. the EC Commissioners will not necessarily be the solution to the challenges in our electoral system. Rather we believe that we must all give the needed support to the Electoral Commission…. (10^th March 2022)

While some argue that floods occur even in the advanced countries, the Daily Graphic posits that some of the floods we experience after just showers can be avoided with the right infrastructure and attitude (25^th May 2022)

Rational appeal is also used by the editorial writers to urge government agencies and organized groups to live up to their responsibility. This takes the form of offering recommendations or calling on a particular agency to discharge its duties in resolving an issue or a situation that needs to be addressed. The editorial writers consistently do this by identifying an organized group or government agency that is responsible for the situation or the topic under discussion and pointing out what is expected to be done to resolve the issue. The editorial writers use this to persuade the agencies involved to consider the reason why there is the need for them to respond to the appeal being made. What is pointed out by the paper as the responsibility of the government agencies or organized groups is usually suggested for consideration by the agency in question. The extracts below illustrate the use of rational appeal to persuade government or government agencies to take certain actions.

The Daily Graphic urges the government to ensure that, truly, all the books are printed locally to speed up the distribution to the schools.(18th March 2022)

The Daily Graphic recommends that all metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies must have at least one park in their jurisdiction…for the wellbeing of the people in their area. (30^th July 2022)

The Daily Graphic calls on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration … to surmount any hindrance to presenting Ghana’s situational report on human rights to the ACHPR.(21st April 2022)

The editorials use argumentations that indicate favourable or unfavourable consequences of actions and inactions as means of persuasion. This type of argumentation shows how one thing or event influences or will influence another event or action. By pointing out the consequences of the actions or practices that the writers are referring to, readers are persuaded to either support a particular action if it is likely to lead to a positive or favourable outcome. It is also used to persuade readers to desist from a practice or an action if it is likely to lead to a negative or unfavourable outcome. According to Aristotle, since a given action or situation has consequences both good and bad, one may argue from this point. Some examples of how the editorial writers of the Daily Graphic employ consequence for persuasion are presented below.

Long-term consequences of the practice include infections, such as chronic genital, reproductive tract and urinary tract infections, and pain … (2^nd March 2022)

The country will be treading a dangerous path if we do not trust our state institutions and keep on asking for changes in leadership without addressing the structural and systemic challenges (10^th March 2022)

When we deny the citizenry their basic rights, … and their participation in the governance process, it creates fertile grounds for anarchists to take advantage of them to … create disturbances ...(17th May 2022)

Another appeal to rationality is the use of facts and figures to support the arguments raised in order to persuade readers. This is a typical characteristic of opinion writing. Ability to use facts and figures to support one’s claims in opinion pieces of writing like editorials, is an essential writing skill used to persuade readers. To avoid making wild claims, the editorial writers use facts, figures and statistical information to support their arguments. Claims or arguments that are supported with facts and figures are likely to sound more persuasive than wild claims that are not supported. Moreover, some readers may not have much knowledge about the topic or issue and the provision of figures to support the stance of the writers serve as a means of educating them on the issue. Some examples of the use of facts and figures to support the arguments of the writers is presented below.

Ghana had a score of 43 out of 100 and ranked 73^rd out of the 180 countries. The 2021 Corruption Perception Index score indicates that Ghana failed to make progress in the fight against corruption … (4^th February 2022)

As many as 30 million girls are also said to be at risk of being cut before their 15th birthday if current trends continue. (14^th February 2022)

Two years ago, gold,… contributed 96 per cent of mineral export revenues. In total, the mining sector contributed 43 per cent of export revenues in 2017. But mining communities in Ghana are generally poor (2^nd September 2022)

The editorial writers constructed ethos appeal to foster national unity among the people and urge readers to adopt a collective effort towards national development. The ethos appeal used in preponderance by the editorials is inclusive pronouns to establish shared values with the readers. The editorials consistently and frequently use the first person plural voice to establish credibility. By the use of this appeal, the editorial writers express the feeling that they have shared values with the readers. They achieved this mainly by the use of inclusive pronouns such as “we”, “us” and “our”. The use of these words by journalists has been questioned by Van Ginneken ⁵² who explains that they tend to divide humanity in half in various ways. He points out that sometimes the use of such words could mean “those in the Third World”, it could also mean “those in the First World” as opposed to “those in the Third World”, it could also mean “people in a particular profession” as against “those who are not in that profession”, it could sometimes mean “the writer and the reader” as opposed to “outsiders who are not sharing the text”. In the case of the Daily Graphic editorials, the writers use these words to mean the writer and the reader sharing the text; specifically, fellow countrymen and women.

The use of the pronouns “we, us and our” humanises the paper and enables the editorial writers to establish solidarity with the readers to create a persuasive impact. Bonyadi ³⁵ observes that the use of such words do not only establish solidarity between the paper and the readers but also raise the authoritative position of the paper. The use of such words by the Daily Graphic editorial writers is meant to appeal to the sense of credibility in order to sound authoritative and be perceived as a unifying force as the Daily Graphic plays the role of a national newspaper in Ghana.

In addition, such words are used by the Daily Graphic editorial writers to foster national unity. The frequent and consistent use of the first person plural voice which manifests in the use of “we” and “our” in the editorials of the Daily Graphic could be explained with reference to Wornyo ⁵⁴ who observes that the the Daily Graphic uses language in a manner that seeks to foster national unity. Social and political issues that form the focus of newspaper editorials are issues that can easily spark emotions and lead to division and conflict especially in an African country like Ghana, so, care is taken not to instigate anger or offence ⁵⁴. The use of these inclusive pronouns to indicate shared values may be adopted by the editorial writers to avoid instances where media comments and messages that involve the use of words that divide humanity can lead to conflict, war, violence and the loss of lives. Stremlau and Monroe ⁵⁵ indicate that the media can have a negative impact on nation building, as what happened in Somaliland’s close presidential contest in 2003. This is evident in the use of such words when the issue under discussion is a volatile political or social issue. Meadow ⁵⁶ points out that the media is used to manipulate the electorate. The consistent use of such inclusive pronouns by the editorial writers of the Daily Graphic could be said to be purposeful towards orienting the public towards maintaining a peaceful nation.

Peace and national unity in most African countries is seen as fragile and attempts are consciously made not to inflame passion and cause division. Media reportage and newspaper opinions are sources of conflict and division in Africa, if not well managed because the political situation in Africa is volatile. Idris ⁵⁷ reports that as a result of political and tribal conflict in Kenya and some other African countries, the media in those countries, through a programme of peace journalism, have taken up the role of airing and projecting information aimed at creating conflict awareness and educating the populace on the importance of maintaining a peaceful state. In dealing with fragile and conflict-affected states, Rao ⁵⁸ suggests some form of policy control of the media. The volatile nature of the political situation of most African countries, including Ghana, could be the reason for the use of the first person plural voice by the editorial writers of the Daily Graphic. Some examples of the use of the first person plural voice to foster national unity and promote peace are given below.

We note that indigenous languages … define our identity, and through them, we are able to effectively express our history and culture, (21^st February 2022)

we must stand united and fight together as one people with a common destiny to improve the livelihood of the people.(17th May 2022)

the key threats to Ghana’s security remained elections and governance. To build confidence and trust in our democratic structures, we must from time to time do an honest analysis of the processes (10^th March 2022)

Related to the use of the credibility appeal to promote national unity, it is also meant to persuade readers to perceive solutions to issues raised by the paper as collective effort and a call for action. It is geared towards issues of national concern such as the need for the preservation of the environment, maintenance of peace and keeping the social structure in the country. The writers call on readers to take action or desist from activities that are detrimental to the environment and other issues. Hafner and Sun ¹⁹ demonstrate the importance of using the appeal to collective action by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern to involve the citizens in handling covid-19 in New Zealand. Kornblit ²⁰ shows how the Prime Minister of Belgium, Sophie Wilmes used collective ethos of unity to get the citizens’ cooperation to contain covid-19 outbreak in Belgium. The use of collective ethos of unity by the editorial writers of the paper is directed toward the aim of sensitizing the readers to rise up to be concerned about nation building and take active part in national, social and environmental issues for a better society. The excerpts provided below illustrate this point.

Let us preserve and protect all our ecologically significant sites, so that they also give us the quality of life we deserve. (14^th July 2022)

Together, let us work to increase cocoa consumption to enable us to benefit from its numerous nutritional and health benefits (12^th February 2022)

For the country to really attain the status of ‘beyond aid’, the onus is on all of us to support everything of our own to make our economy resilient (18^th March 2022)

The editorial writers of the Daily Graphic use pathos appeal to let the readers perceive what they feel about the issues or the topics that they write about. The writers accomplish this by appealing to readers’ view to show how passionate they feel about the topic. The analysis shows that the editorial writers evoke the emotions of the readers by appealing to their view. The writers do this by presenting actions that readers should consider worthy of emulation. The writers engage in highlighting why taking a particular action is important for the safety and well-being of the individual and the society as a whole. The writers use this appeal to position readers to agree with them by indicating something that is important to them. The writers usually appeal to the conscience of the readers to see reason to desist from practices that put the individual and the society in danger and are detrimental to social cohesion, peace and development and rather engage in practices that are beneficial to them and the society. The readers are oriented to perceive the appeal being made as cautions that are for their own good and the good of the society.

We definitely cannot hide behind these technologically enabled virtual platforms to insult the elderly or others.(10th Sept. 2022)

Sad to say that we all know the problem, but both the authorities and residents pretend to be doing something to solve it, while bypassing the bold actions that need to be taken. (25^th May 2022)

Whether we like it or not, it is not every animal that should be killed for meat, … and it is not every tract of land or river that must be destroyed just because that piece of land has mineral-bearing rocks that must be mined at all cost. (14^th July 2022)

It is evident from the analysis that the emotions of the readers is evoked by the use of words that reflect the attitude and the feeling of the writers towards the topics that they write about. They use words that show how they feel about the issue under discussion. The writers use words to evoke either the positive or negative feelings of the readers. The use of words that evoke positive emotions show that the attitude of the writers towards the topic is positive while words that evoke negative emotions show that the writers have negative attitude toward the topic. The writers’ choice of words activate readers emotions of happiness, joy, contentment and satisfaction on one hand or pity, fear, sadness, contempt or disgust on the other. Examples of words that evoke the emotions of readers are given in the extracts below.

We are happy that the sector minister has plans … to deal with such recalcitrant … publishers.(18th March 2022)

the whole country is optimistic of nothing but victory.(25th March 2022)

some of our leaders become so power drunk (11^th January 2022)

The cut-throat cost of vying for political office in Ghana was inflating the cost of government (4^th February 2022)

6. Conclusion

The findings of this study reveal how the Daily Graphic editorial writers use rhetorical appeals to persuade readers. The editorial writers of the paper use the three appeals to persuade readers. The appeal to rationality is used to express the position that the paper has taken on issues of national concern. Rational appeal is also displayed in how the paper appeals to government agencies to take important actions to resolve pertinent issues. In addition, the writers engage in argumentation using facts and figures to persuade readers to support the opinion of the paper. The credibility appeal manifests in the use of inclusive pronouns, mainly first person plural pronouns to portray shared values between the writers and the reading public. The indication of shared values is used to appeal to readers to perceive national unity as a priority and have a collective attitude towards national development. The editorial writers appeal to the views of readers to evoke emotions of the readers. The pathos appeal is also evoked when the writers use words that depict how they feel about the issues that they write about. The writers use words that show negative feelings towards actions that are detrimental to national unity and development. On the whole, the editorial writers of the Daily Graphic use the rhetorical appeals of logos, ethos and pathos to persuade their readers.

References