AP Lang Fallacies

Scare Tactics

Exaggerating fears as a means of persuasion

Argumentum ad Baculum

appeal to force

Ad Misercordiam

appeal to pity

Transfer (Endorsement)

associating a popular figure/cause with a different issue

Bandwagon/Ad Populum

reasoning that something is true because everyone accepts it as true

Either/Or Fallacy

the false presentation of two options as the only possible solutions to problem

Slippery Slope

A fallacy of argument that exaggerates the consequences of an action without reasonable support

Ad Hominem

attacking the rhetors personal character rather than the issue

False Authority

a fallacy of argument in which a claim is based on the expertise of someone who lacks appropriate credentials

Dogmatism

a fallacy of argument in which a claim is supported on the grounds that its the only conclusion acceptable within a given community

Stacking the Deck

a fallacy in which the rhetor presents only evidence that supports his claim, ignoring all evidence to the contrary

Hasty Generalization

the use of unrepresentative, insufficient, and/or irrelevant evidence to come to a general conclusion

Post-Hoc

Because 2 events follow each other in time, one concludes that the first event caused the second

Non-Sequitur

An argument with a missing claim (like syllogism)

Begging the Question

An argument in which the conclusion is used as one of the premises (A=A)

Straw-man Fallacy

Oversimplification or distortion of opposing views

False Analogy

Because two things are alike in some respects, they are not necessarily alike in all respects

Argument from Ignorance

One cannot argue something to be true simply because it has not been proven false.