English fallacies

ad hominem fallacy (Latin, "to the man")

a fallacy of logic in which a person's character or motive is attacked instead of that person's argument

ad populum fallacy (Latin, “to the crowd")

a fallacy of logic in which the widespread occurrence of something is assumed to make it true or right; e.g., "The Corolla is the most widely sold car in the world; therefore, it must be the best."

allegory

a story in which the people, places, and things represent general concepts or moral qualities; adj., allegorical

allusion

a brief reference to a person, place, event, or passage assumed to be sufficiently well known to be recognized by the reader; e.g., "She turned the other cheek after she was cheated out of a promotion."

analogy

a comparison between two things in which the more complex is explained in terms of the more simple; e.g., comparing a year-long profile of the stock index to a roller-coaster ride

anecdote

a short entertaining account of some happening, frequently personal or biographical, adj., anecdotal

anticlimax

a sudden drop from the dignified or important thought or expression to the commonplace or trivial, often for humorous effect; adj., anticlimactic

appeal to authority

citation of information from people recognized for their special knowledge of a subject for the purpose of strengthening a speaker or writer's arguments argumentation

begging the question

a fallacy of logical argument that assumes as true the very thing that one is trying to prove; e.g., Killing people is wrong, so the death penalty is wrong

cause and effect

examination of the causes and/or effects of a situation or phenomenon; e.g., Essay topics such as "What causes obesity?"

chronological ordering

arrangement in the order in which things occur; may move from past to present or in reverse chronological order, from present to past

classification as a means of ordering

arrangement of objects according to class; e.g., media classified as print, television, radio

colloquial expression

words and phrases used in everyday speech but avoided in formal writing; e.g., Jack was bummed out about his chemistry grade, instead of Jack was upset about his chemistry grade.

damning with faint praise

intentional use of a positive statement that has a negative implication; e.g., Your new hairdo is so.. interesting

deduction (deductive reasoning)

a form of reasoning that begins with a generalization, then applies the generalization to a specific case or cases; opposite to induction (see syllogism)

digression

temporary departure from the main subject in speaking or writing

argumentation

exploration of a problem by investigating all sides of it; persuasion through reason