AP Language Rhetorical Fallacies Quizlet Live

ad hominem

criticizes an idea by pointing out something about the person, not the idea // of course writer supports tax cuts, she's rich!

argument from authority

tempts us to agree with writer's assumptions based on authority of a famous person or entity, or on his or her own character if well known // most famous baseball player of all time said no one used steroids, must be true

appeal to ignorance

based on the assumption that whatever has not been proven false must be proven true / no one can prove the loch ness monster doesn't exist, therefore it does

begging the question

assumption that parts or all of what the person claims to be proving are proven facts // loch ness monster spoke to me in my dreams so it must exist

hasty generalization

deliberately lead you to a conclusion by providing insufficient and selective evidence // ping pong is dangerous, last year my friend got hit in the eye with a ball and almost lost his vision

non sequitir

it doesn't follow; statement does not logically relate to what comes before it // if you wanted to earn a 5 on the ap exam, you wouldn't spend so much time reading john green's novels

false dichotomy

consideration of only the two extremes when there are intermediate possibilities // AP calc BC is impossible, either you get it or you don't

slippery slope

suggests dire consequences from relatively minor causes // if you get a b in high school, you won't get into college and you'll never have a career

faulty casuality

setting up of a cause and effect relationship where none exists. one event can happen after another without the first directly causing it // violent crime in young adults increased bc of sales of violent video games

straw man argument

oversimplifying opponent's argument to make it easier to attack // students who want to get rid of school uniforms are exhibitionists who want to show off bare midriffs

sentimental appeals

tactic that attempts to appeal to the hearts of readers so that they forget to use their minds // the assignment i gave you was way too long, but think about the pride and joy your parents will feel when you score a 5 on the ap exam!

red herring

attempts to shift attention away from an important issue by introducing an issue that has no logical connection to the discussion at hand

scare tactics

used to frighten readers into agreeing, often times there is no logical argument to fall back on // if you don't vote for this president's economic plan you will surely fall into poverty

bandwagon appeals

encourages the reader to agree with a position because everyone else does // its time for our county to repeal the ban on strip mining, every other county in the state already has

dogmatism

does not allow for discussion because the speaker believes his or her beliefs are beyond question // we are members of wombat party and therefore assert that wombats are the best

equivocation

telling part of the truth while intentionally hiding the whole truth; lying by omission

faulty analogy

illogical, misleading comparison between two things // why should we invade that country? if you looked out the window and saw a 20 in the street, wouldn't you go out and take it?