Rhetorical Fallacies

For grading, it can be helpful to let students write their own rubrics. Students like it when their teacher is nice.

• False dichotomy

• Red herring

• Appeal to authority

• This is not a fallacy

Data suggests that students perform better on tests when they feel more confident, regardless of how much they studied. This means we should find ways to increase student confidence.

• Slippery slope

• False cause

• Begging the question

• This is not a fallacy

People who are against violent videogames believe they should be banned, despite the evidence to the contrary. Therefore, videogame content does not need to be monitored or regulated at all.

• Straw man

• Appeal to ignorance

• False dichotomy

• This is not a fallacy

Listen, we either make reservations for dinner at 6pm, or we don't eat dinner at all.

• Straw man

• False dichotomy

• Missing the point

• This is not a fallacy

My cousin was an English major, and he still doesn't have a full time job 2 years after graduating college. That means I won't find a job if I major in English.

• Begging the question

• False dichotomy

• Hasty generalization

• This is not a fallacy

If we create a Universal Basic Income, then eventually no one will ever want to work, and our society will come undone.

• Red herring

• False cause

• Hasty generalization

• Slippery slope

Guns are just like knives. Both are used to help us with our food (eating it or hunting it). It would be ridiculous to regulate knives, so it would be ridiculous to regulate guns.

• Missing the point

• Red herring

• Weak analogy

• This is not a fallacy

Freedom means making your own choices, and so therefore you should have the freedom from the consequences of your choices.

• Equivocation

• Hasty generalization

• Straw man

• This is not a fallacy

All teachers should make at least $60,000/year. It is a compensation equal to their training, expertise, and labor.

• Red herring

• False dichotomy

• Hasty generalization

• This is not a fallacy

Giving to charity is the best way to handle poverty. It is a good thing to voluntarily help other people in need.

• Red herring

• False cause

• Appeal to authority

• Begging the question