A fallacy is an often plausible argument

using false or illogical reasoning.

Writers of argumentative essays must appear

logical or their readers will reject their
point of view. Here is a short list of some
of the most common logical fallacies--that
is, errors in reasoning. Check your rough
drafts carefully to avoid these problems.
 an argument that appeals to another’s
sympathy; not answering the argument.

 EX: A woman applies to college. When the

Admissions Director asks about her grades,
test scores, and extracurricular activities,
she states that she didn’t have much time to
study because her mother has been sick for
several years and she has had to work through
almost all of high school.
asserting a proposition is true
because it has not been proven
false

EX: Taking vitamin X is good for

you since nobody taking it has
become sick.
an argument used to promote
guilt by association

EX: Both Senator Muha and Latin

American Marxists are critics
of the Chilean government;
therefore, Senator Muha must be
a Marxist.
 resorting to threat in order to have
a point accepted

EX: Our paper certainly deserves the

support of every German. We shall
continue to forward copies of it to
you, and hope you will not want to
expose yourself to the unfortunate
consequences in case of cancellation.
an argument that suggests one is
correct if they go along with the
“crowd”

EX: Every fashionable senior this

year is wearing a piece of Navajo
jewelry.
you report what is true, repeating
what you believe, only in different
words

EX: I am in college because it the

right thing to do. Going to college
is expected of me.
the points of the argument
contradict each other; therefore,
there is no argument.

EX: If God can do anything, he can

make a stone so heavy that He
won’t be able to lift it.
all other possibilities, explanations, or
solutions are ignored.

EX: Given the alarming number of

immigrants in the U.S. who fail to learn
English and speak it, mandating English as
the official language of our country must
be done.
an argument that assumes a fundamental
similarity between two things that
resemble each other only in part.

EX: A college has no right to fire a

popular teacher. To do so is like
throwing out of office a public official
who has just been reelected by the
majority of the voters.
this argument equates sequence with
causality: Because Event A was
followed by Event B, the first
caused the second.

EX: Every time I wash my car, it

rains. I washed my car today;
therefore, it will rain today.
an argument that contains evidence
that is only partly true.

EX: Making English the official

language is a good idea because it
will make it easier for people to
understand one another.
this argument assumes “all” are the
same, but there are too few instances to
support such a claim.

EX: John likes Keating’s health plan,

Becky likes Keating’s health plan, and
Sayd likes Keating’s health plan;
therefore, Keating’ s health plan must be
the best choice
an argument that starts with an untrue
hypothesis and then tries to draw
supportable conclusions from it.

EX: If I had never met Dan twenty years

ago in college, I would never have
fallen in love.
an argument that makes simple of a very
complex issue by using catchy phrases such
as: “It all boils down to...”or “It’s a
simple question of...”, etc.

EX: Censorship is a simple question of

protecting our children from obscenities.
an argument that personally attacks
another as to discredit the issue at
hand.

EX: Two students are running for student

body president. Prior to the vote, one
candidate puts up fliers all over the
building indicating that the other boy is
a cheater, liar, and has bad grades.
think of a stinky smoked fish dragged
across the trail to throw a tracking dog
off scent; an argument that tends to
sidetrack everyone involved.

EX: While discussing the need for tobacco

subsidies in the federal budget, somebody
asserts that all restaurants should have
non-smoking sections.
 an argument that uses the meaning of words or
sentences in two different senses

EX: Criminals do everything to obstruct

arrest, prosecution, and conviction. Likewise,
liberal lawyers try in every way to obstruct
the work of police. Obviously, then, most
liberal lawyers are no better than criminals
themselves. (Amphiboly)
 the assumption that if one thing is
allowed, it will only be the first in a
downward spiral of events.

EX: If you continue to watch professional

wrestling, your grades will drop, you
will become violent, and eventually you
will end up in jail.
 an argument based on an
unqualified generalization.

EX: All high school students

are irresponsible.
 appealing to an authority in one field
regarding something in another field in which
that authority has no more standing than
anyone or anything else.

EX: The policeman testified on the witness

stand that the cause of death to the victim
was a bullet wound that entered the body at
the sternum, penetrated the left lung and
lodged at the 5th lumbar vertebrae.
 (There are two ways of doing this: First through Equivocation [shifting the meaning of
one term] and through Amphiboly [shifting the meaning through sentence structure])