Question

In addition to academic and extracurricular achievements in school, I am an involved member of my community. I volunteer at the local animal shelter every Saturday morning, and I help build houses for a nonprofit organization a few times a year with my family.

Which rhetorical device is used most clearly here?

Answer 1

"The rhetorical device used in this excerpt is ethos.

Ethos is an ethical appeal. The writer appeals to what the reader probably considers right and wrong and suggests the he/she (the writer) is also a well-behaved, ethical person. The intention in this college application is to show the writer's character and credibility by having the reader follow a simple logical train of thought:

- This writer is a good person. He/she is altruistic and hard-working. Thus, he/she will be an asset for this institution."