Question

Before the big game coach dundum tells the team about a previous teams experience in a similar game. though they were nervous the players had reminded themselves how much they had practiced and how ready they were for the game. the coach recounted how that team had then wished each other luck and gone on to win the game.

a) ad hominem
b) pathos
c) logos
d) ethos

Answer 1

Coach Dundum's recounting of a previous team's success to inspire the current players is an example of using ethos, which relies on credibility and authority to persuade an audience.

Step-by-step explanation:

The scenario described in the question involves Coach Dundum recounting a past successful game to inspire current team players. In this context, the coach is using ethos as a rhetorical strategy. Ethos pertains to establishing authority or credibility to appeal to the audience. The coach, by sharing past experiences and success of a previous team, is leveraging his authoritative position and the trust of his players, similar to how expertise was used in the pizza example where the roommates had tried all other pizzerias and thus, had an authoritative opinion.

Pathos, on the other hand, is an appeal to the audience's emotions. If the coach had focused primarily on playing to the players' feelings, such as their passion for the game or their fears about losing, this would have been an example of pathos. Finally, logos involves appealing to logic and reason. If the coach had used statistics or logical arguments about why the team was likely to win, it would have been an example of logos.

In summary, the correct answer is d) ethos as the coach is using his credibility and the past success of a team to build confidence and trust among his players before the game.