Emotional Appeal and Reasoning in the Dear Thelma Column: A Rhetorical Analysis of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Abstract

This objective of the study was to analyse how Aristotle's three classical rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos were deployed in the Dear Thelma column published in The Star, one of Malaysia's most widely circulated English-language newspapers, to persuade and guide emotionally affected readers. A qualitative research design was employed, with 15 purposively selected write-ups analysed using Aristotle's rhetorical framework as the primary analytical lens. Data were coded and categorised systematically using NVivo qualitative data analysis software to ensure rigour and consistency throughout the analytical process. The findings revealed that all three rhetorical appeals were consistently present across the corpus, with pathos emerging as the most dominant strategy, reflected in Thelma's extensive use of emotional validation, empathetic affirmation, and dignity-restoring language directed at distressed readers. Ethos was prominently constructed through directive advice-giving, professional recommendations, moral authority, and epistemic transparency, while logos functioned as a complementary strategy grounding responses in cause-and-effect reasoning, conditional argumentation, and evidence-based analysis. Crucially, the three appeals operated not independently but in a mutually reinforcing manner, consistent with Aristotle's proposition that effective persuasion draws on all three modes in combination. These findings carry implications for communication literacy, media discourse analysis, and the understanding of emotionally driven advisory communication in Malaysian English-language print media.