Which rhetorical appeal does pathos represent?

Pathos represents an appeal to emotional experiences. This rhetorical strategy seeks to evoke feelings in the audience, allowing them to connect with the message on a deeper emotional level. By tapping into emotions such as joy, sadness, anger, or empathy, a speaker or writer can persuade the audience by resonating with their feelings and experiences.

In contrast to other rhetorical appeals, such as logos, which focuses on logical reasoning and evidence, or ethos, which emphasizes the credibility and moral character of the speaker, pathos is primarily concerned with the emotional reactions of the audience. It encourages the audience to feel something significant about the topic at hand, ultimately influencing their perspective or response. Additionally, statistics and factual evidence, which may appeal to logic, are not the basis of pathos but rather belong to another rhetorical subset. Therefore, the correct answer highlights the central role that emotions play in effective persuasion through pathos.