Rhetorical Fallacies
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Learning Outcomes: You will understand rhetorical fallacies and how to avoid
them in their own writing.
How can you define rhetorical fallacies?
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The word “fallacy” comes from the Latin word “fallere”, which means “to deceive.” The word
transformed in the late 15th century with Middle English to “fallacia”, which means “deception
and guile.”
A fallacy is a failure in reasoning which results in an unsound argument.
Rhetorical fallacies, also called fallacies of argument, are a deceptive argument that has
misleading reasoning at its foundation. You might have been the victim of someone else’s
fallacious argument. Sometimes it’s hard to put your finger on what exactly is wrong with an
argument like this, but you know there’s something not completely fair about it.
https://www.hellovaia.com/explanations/english/rhetoric
/rhetorical-fallacy/
Fallacies and emotion
**Argument to the People**
-Example: "Don't question the teacher's authority; they've been teaching for decades, so they must be right."
**Appeal to Ignorance**
- Example: "You can't prove that aliens don't exist, so they must be real." Lack of evidence isn't proof of existence.
**Appeal to Irrational Premises**
- Example: "Since my lucky socks helped me win the last game, they must guarantee victory every time." Assuming
luck can be attributed to specific clothing.
**Red Herring**:
Example: During a discussion on education reform, someone starts talking about the benefits of space exploration,
diverting attention from the original topic.
**Provincialism**:
- Example: "Our town is the best in the world because we've never needed to leave it." Assuming that one's limited
experience is representative of the whole world.
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Fallacies and Logic
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**Appeal to False Authority**
- Example: "Dr. Smith, a renowned physicist, says that eating chocolate cake every day is healthy, so it
must be true." Using an expert's credibility in an unrelated field to support a claim.
**Appeal to the Person (Ad Hominem)**
- Example: "You can't trust John's opinion on politics; he's a terrible cook." Attacking the person instead
of addressing their argument.
**Strawman**
- Example: During a debate on climate change, one person argues for reducing carbon emissions, while
the opponent misrepresents their position by saying they want to destroy the economy.
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Fallacies and Logic
**Complex Question**
- Example: "Have you stopped cheating on exams yet?" This assumes the person being asked has cheated in the past.
**False Dilemma (False Dichotomy)**:
- Example: "You're either with us or against us in the fight against climate change." Oversimplifying a complex issue by presenting only two extreme options.
**Equivocation**:
- Example: "A feather is light, and what is light cannot be dark. Therefore, a feather cannot cast a shadow." Here, "light" is used in two different senses.
**Confusing Correlation with Causation**
- Example: "Whenever I wear my lucky hat, my team wins. Therefore, my hat brings us luck." Assuming a causal relationship between wearing a hat and winning a
game based solely on correlation.
**Faulty Analogy**:
- Example: "Running a country is like managing a household budget." Oversimplifying the complexities of government by comparing it to a household budget.
**Non Sequitur**
- Example: "If we don't buy a new car, the sun will explode." A statement that doesn't logically
follow from the previous one.
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Let’s watch and discuss a video
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https://youtu.be/c5QdzqbCxgI
Can you think of any other examples of rhetorical fallacies you
have experienced in real life?
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Work in groups
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1) Identify a type of a fallacy
2) Think of a productive counter argument
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EXAMPLE
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Equivocation on "Faith": Fallacy: "Scientists have faith in their theories, just like religious
people have faith in God. Therefore, science is a religion.
" Counterargument: "The term 'faith' is used differently here. In science, 'faith' refers to confidence
based on evidence and testing, while religious faith is a belief without empirical proof."
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Homework
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Blended Learning: Rhetorical Strategies, October 11th
Rough Draft: Friday, October 6th.
a.
Each group will be assigned one question about one essay. (Make sure you answer the
question fully by pointing to specific points in the text that supports their answer.)
Here are the questions:
 Group 1: “Why Washington Shouldn’t Make PR a State” essay, Question #1
 Group 2: “Why Washington Shouldn’t Make PR a State” essay, Question #2
 Group 3: “Why Washington Shouldn’t Make PR a State” essay, Question #3
 Group 4: “Coming Clean: Why Bloomberg Must Consider a Rehab Center” essay,
Question #1
 Group 5: “Coming Clean: Why Bloomberg Must Consider a Rehab Center” essay,
Question #2
Group #
Topic
Audience
Purpose
1
Tumblr
Grandparents
Convince them to make an
account
2
Harvard
Kindergarteners
Inform them about what it is
3
Stigmata
Doctor
Explain that you are having this
physical experience
4
Nike
High School Sport Coach
Convince them that name-brand
uniforms would equal better
performance.
5
Cardi B
Math Professor
Convince her to play “I Like It” in
class.
6
Quantum
Roommate
Mechanics
Convince them to stay in Friday
night to do practice problems
instead of going out.
Give a brief presentation of what sources you would use to make a successful argument for your audience and purpose.
Discuss what sources you encountered that didn’t fit your rhetorical situation. Consider how your sources would need to
change if the audience changed. Practice crafting arguments.
Examples from the sample papers:
i.
Use the acronym fanboys to remember the coordinating conjunctions: for,
and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
a.
A correlative conjunction is a two-part conjunction that link words or clauses.
i.
b.
Ex: Neither…nor…, both…and…, either…or…, and not only…also….
A subordinating conjunction introduces dependent clauses, which are clauses that
must be linked to a main clause or independent clause.
What is a conjunction?
A conjunction links two or more words, phrases or clauses together.
There are two main types of conjunctions we use within sentences.
Do you know what they both are?
• co-ordinating conjunctions (e.g. and) link two main clauses together
as an equal pair to create a compound sentence. We usually remember
these words using the acronym ‘FANBOYS’.
• subordinating conjunctions (e.g. when) introduce a subordinate
clause.
Co-ordinating Conjunctions: The Rules
Conjunctions are words that link together clauses. There are two types of
conjunctions.
Co-ordinating conjunctions link main clauses together to form compound
sentences e.g.
The sun was scorching. We wore our hats.
The sun was scorching so we wore our hats.
Co-ordinating Conjunctions: The Rules
You can easily remember all the co-ordinating conjunctions by using the
acronym FANBOYS.
Subordinating Conjunctions: The Rules
A subordinating conjunction connects a main clause and a
subordinate clause.
A subordinate clause is dependent on the main clause because it doesn’t
make sense on its own. When main clauses and subordinate clauses are
used together to form a sentence, it is called a complex sentence.
main
clause
He managed to reach the summit of the mountain
because he had been practicing hiking for a long time.
subordinate clause beginning with the subordinating conjunction
‘because’
Why is it important to think rhetorically about your use of coordinating and subordinating
conjunctions?
 Conjunctions can be moments where common ground is established within your
own argument.
1. Ex: Neither I nor [opposition’s name] dispute that…
2. Ex: [Opposition’s name] makes an insightful point about the dangers of [X]
but [insert source] proves that…
 Similarly, conjunctions can be used to indicate where their argument differs from their
opposition.
1. Ex: [Opposition’s name] argues [X], yet statistics show…
2. Ex: I agreed with [opposition’s name] until they…
Subordinating and coordinating conjunctions practice
 Please return to the 5 groups that focused on specific essays.
 Find two sentences within the essay that use either a
subordinating or coordinating conjunction.
 Discuss the rhetorical effect of the student’s use of a
subordinating or coordinating conjunction.
Productive Counterargument Proposal
a.
Project the “Productive Counterargument Proposal” Worksheet (on Canvas) or discuss the questions your students
will need to answer.
b.
If there’s time, you might ask them to brainstorm what topic they’re interested in exploring.
Explore: https://libraryguides.nau.edu/eng105