Analyzing Ethos: Credibility and Authority

Active learning helps students see how credibility and authority work in real-world texts. When students dissect ads, scripts, and pitches, they move beyond abstract definitions to notice how visuals and language shape trust, even when we don’t realize it.

• Year 9
• English
• 3 activities
• 30 min–60 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze how specific word choices and rhetorical devices contribute to a speaker's or writer's perceived credibility.
2. Evaluate the ethical implications of a speaker's background and past actions on their authority in a persuasive argument.
3. Compare and contrast the strategies used to establish earned credibility versus assumed authority in different persuasive texts.
4. Predict the audience's reception of a persuasive message based on the speaker's demonstrated ethos.
5. Critique the effectiveness of a speaker's attempts to build or undermine their own ethos in a given context.

Gallery Walk

⏱ 30 min·Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Ad Deconstruction

Display various print and digital ads around the room. Students move in small groups with sticky notes, identifying one visual technique and one linguistic technique per ad, then discussing how these elements target a specific Australian demographic.

Prepare & details

Evaluate how a speaker's background influences their perceived authority.

Facilitation Tip: During the Gallery Walk, have pairs stand at one ad for exactly three minutes, silently analyzing visual elements before discussing their findings.

Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter

Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 40 min·Pairs

Inquiry Circle: The Influencer's Script

Students work in pairs to analyze a 'sponsored' social media post. They must identify the 'hidden' persuasive techniques used to make the ad feel like a personal recommendation, presenting their findings back to the class using a shared digital whiteboard.

Prepare & details

Differentiate between earned credibility and assumed authority in persuasive texts.

Facilitation Tip: For the Influencer’s Script, provide a checklist of ethos-building techniques so students can track how credibility is constructed in the text.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Simulation Game

⏱ 60 min·Small Groups

Simulation Game: The Ad Agency Pitch

Groups are given a 'boring' product and a specific target audience (e.g., Australian retirees or Gen Z students). They must design a visual layout and a slogan, then pitch their concept to the class, explaining the psychological triggers they chose to use.

Prepare & details

Predict the impact of a speaker's ethical choices on audience reception.

Facilitation Tip: In the Ad Agency Pitch, assign specific roles (e.g., art director, copywriter) to ensure all students contribute to the persuasive strategy.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should model close reading of visuals and language together, pointing out details like camera angles or word connotations. Avoid rushing to conclusions; instead, guide students to notice subtle cues that shape authority. Research shows that repeated practice with varied texts helps students transfer these skills to new contexts.

What to Expect

Students should articulate how visual and linguistic choices build credibility and authority in ads. They should also reflect on their own responses to persuasive techniques and how these techniques influence behavior.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Gallery Walk, students might assume that advertising is only about the words on the screen.

What to Teach Instead

During the Gallery Walk, have students cover the text of an ad with a sticky note and focus only on visual grammar. Afterward, discuss how much meaning was conveyed without words and why that matters for credibility.

Common Misconception

During peer discussions about buying habits, students may claim they are not influenced by advertising.

What to Teach Instead

During the Collaborative Investigation, ask students to anonymously share one purchase they made recently and explain what made it appealing, even if they thought they weren’t swayed by ads.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After the Gallery Walk, present students with a short video clip of a public figure giving a speech. Ask: 'What specific elements of the speaker's background or presentation contribute to their perceived authority? List two examples and explain why they are effective or ineffective.'

Quick Check

During the Collaborative Investigation, provide students with two brief written arguments on the same topic, one from an expert and one from an unqualified source. Ask: 'Identify which argument is likely more persuasive and explain your reasoning, referencing the concept of ethos.'

Peer Assessment

After the Ad Agency Pitch, have students select a short persuasive text (e.g., an opinion piece, a product review). They swap texts with a partner and identify one way the author attempts to build credibility and one potential way their credibility could be undermined. Partners provide written feedback on their observations.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to rewrite a print ad without text, using only visuals to maintain the same persuasive appeal.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters for students to describe how a visual element (e.g., color, framing) contributes to credibility.
• Deeper: Have students research a historical ad campaign and compare its ethos strategies to a modern counterpart.

Key Vocabulary

Ethos	The characteristic spirit, guiding beliefs, or ideals that animate and distinguish a person, group, or culture. In persuasion, it refers to the credibility and authority of the speaker or writer.
Credibility	The quality of being trusted and believed in. It is built through expertise, experience, and demonstrated trustworthiness.
Authority	The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. In persuasion, it can be assumed based on position or earned through demonstrated knowledge and character.
Rhetorical Devices	Techniques used in speaking or writing to persuade an audience. Examples include repetition, analogy, and appeals to emotion or logic.
Audience Reception	How an audience perceives, interprets, and responds to a persuasive message, influenced by their own beliefs, values, and the speaker's ethos.