The correct answer is A. Gives the idea that the writer is sympathetic and respectable
Explanation:
In persuasion, the ethical appeal is a persuasive technique based on moral and more importantly on the credibility of the speaker. This implies in this type of appeal the speaker or writer convince the audience to believe his position or words because he is respectable, sympathetic or morally correct rather than because he provides facts or evidence to support the information in the speech or text. This implies the information becomes valid due to the author or person that is communicating it rather than because it is valid. According to this, the one that is a defining characteristic of an ethical appeal is that it "gives the idea that the writer is sympathetic and respectable".