AP Lang Fallacies Terms

False Need

Creates unnecessary desire for things

Red Herring

An argument that pretends to establish a particular conclusion, but really argues for something else entirely

Ad Populum

Encourages an audience to agree with the writer because everyone else is doing so

Sentimental Appeals

Uses emotions to distract the audience from the facts

Slippery Slope

An assertion that one undesirable action will lead to a worse action, which will lead to a worse one, until a disastrous end

Either-Or-Thinking

Reduces complicated issues to only two possible course of actions

Scare Tactics

Try to frighten people into agreeing with the arguer by threatening them or predicting unrealistically dire consequences

Ad Verecuandiam

Asks the audience to agree based on the character or authority of another person who may not be qualified to offer that assertion

Personal Authority

When someone offers their own knowledge or experience as proof

Ad Hominem

Attacks a person’s character rather than addressing the issue at hand

Strawman

Misrepresenting an opponent’s position to make it easier to attack

Moral Equivalence

Compares minor problems with much more serious crimes (or vice versa)

Hasty Generalization

A conclusion based on insufficient evidence

Post Hoc

Assuming that an event is caused by another simply because one event occurs after the other

Non Sequitur

A statement that does not logically relate to what comes before it. An important logical step may be missing in such a claim.

Faulty Analogy

An inaccurate, inappropriate, or misleading comparison between two things