Rhetorical Fallacies

Ad Hominem

criticizes an argument by pointing out something about the person who made that argument ("Of course he's wrong, it's Jay Leno!")

argument from authority

tempts us to agree with the writer's assumptions based on the authority of a famous person ("Neal Wu said so!")

Appeal to ignorance

based on the assumption that whatever has not been proven false must be true or vice versa. ("No one has proved that Master Chief doesn't have a girlfriend, therefore, he has a girlfriend-and it is me.)

Begging the question/circular reasoning

Argument in which someone assumes that parts (or all)of what the person claims to be proving are proven facts. ("Of course you're supposed to cut soap into small pieces and designate each piece to a body part; a magazine article I read said so.)

Hasty generalization

leading to a conclusion by providing insufficient, selective evidence. ("The Concubine AP exam is very hard because none of my friends have ever passed it.")

Non sequitur

"It doesn't follow"; a statement that does not relate logically with what comes before it. ("I like Modern Warfare 2 because it smells like glue and apples mixed together in a harmonious blend.")

False Dichotomy

consideration of only two extremes when there are one or more possibilities. ("I will eat a dinosaur or I will eat a cupcake; nothing else")

Slippery Slope

argument suggesting dire consequences from relatively minor causes. ("If they play grand theft auto, it won't be long before they will start stealing cars and becoming drug dealers.")

Faulty casualty

setting up a cause-effect relationship when it doesn't exist ("The global temperature has increased over the last couple of decades, as has the popularity of Apple products."); Note: This is kind of like the "correlation does not imply causation" thing

Straw Man argument

oversimplification of an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack. ("People who eat McDonald's are all people who do not give a second thought to their health or lifestyle.")

Sentimental appeals

Tactic attempts to appeal to the emotions of the readers so that they forget to use their minds. ("Even though the US Army was sent there for a cause that only helped the president and his cabinet to get a couple extra billion, let us remember those brave pawns who died honoring their country. Let us weep our tears. And let us continue this brave fight, to honor those who last their lives.")

Red Herring

Attempt to shift attention away from an important issue by introducing an issue that has no logical connection to the discussion at hand. ("Though you have made a valid point about alfredo sauce, I must say that skittles are more important and we should spend our resources on that.")

Scare tactics

Used to frighten readers or listeners into agreeing. ("If your son enrolls in this summer program, he will meet many girls and get them pregnant!And then you will experience shame and a depletion of monetary funds.")

Bandwagon appeals

encourages the reader to agree with a position because everyone else does. ("Everyone else agreed to donate $10 to buy Stacy an iPod. Why can't you? Why are you so stingy? You suck as a friend.")

Dogmatism

does not allow for discussion because the speaker presumes that his or her beliefs are correct. ("Baton Rouge High is the best high school ever; everyone knows that.")

Equivocation

Telling part of the truth, while deliberately hiding the entire truth. ("Billy got into trouble because he threw paper." [Billy threw paper to get rid of the tarantula crawling up Susan's skirt.]

faulty analogy

illogical, misleading comparison between two things