College Composition / Unit 30 CMP 0744 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Naming the Fallacy
The idea
Naming a fallacy means matching what an argument does with its reasoning to the pattern that describes the error.
In practice
Ask the questions in order. First, does the argument attack a person or group instead of the position? That is ad hominem or guilt by association. Second, does it attack a position the opponent never took? That is a straw man. Third, does it rest on popularity? That is a bandwagon. Fourth, does it offer only two choices? That is a false dilemma. Fifth, does it predict a chain of disasters without showing the links? That is a slippery slope, often joined by an appeal to fear. Sixth, does it generalize from a few cases? That is a hasty generalization. Seventh, does it treat sequence as cause? That is a causal fallacy. Eighth, does the reason repeat the claim? That is circular reasoning.
Where people slip
The question matters more than the label. Explaining how the reasoning fails is worth more than the name, and in a rhetorical analysis the explanation should say how the fallacy strengthens or weakens the writer's position.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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