Pathos as a powerful rhetoric advice

Out of the three categories of arguments that we have learned, pathos is the most powerful rhetorical device to appeal to the audience’s imaginative sympathies. Using pathos can deeper the appreciation of the argument by engaging the audience in emotional and imaginative appeals, and make the reader feel and see what the writer does, and therefore making a pathetic appeal. Pathos is very effective when used correctly, but can be extremely ineffective when used incorrectly, which is why it is such a hard rhetorical device to use. If your argument stimulating the emotions isn’t powerful enough, then the argument won’t have any affect; however, you can’t overdo the emotional appeal and try to drown your audience in too many emotions, or the argument will become too fake.
The main reason pathos is such a powerful rhetorical device is because it appeals to imaginative sympathies. People are highly influenced by appeal to emotions. For example, if a writer is providing an argument dealing with Africa or Darfur and genocide, they might use pathos to appeal to sadder and more somber emotions, therefore making people want to help the situation. If a writer was providing an argument that parks are a good influence on young society, they might use pathos to appeal to happier emotions and making people want to build more parks. You decide which emotions you want to appeal to by asking yourself as a writer things such as: “How can I make the reader open to my message? How can I best appeal to my reader’s values and interests? How can I engage my reader emotionally and imaginatively?”
Using logic or facts are certainly affective at proving a point, but if you want to make your reader take action, pathos would be the best rhetorical device. People are more inclined to believe, or take action, to something that makes them feel something emotionally or sympathize with an argument.