Provide the fallacy that best represents the argument’s flaws.
1) “My opponent says that we should provide more unemployment assistance. Well, we all
know that socialism is a bad thing.”
2) “I called my mom before I left the house, and then I got in an accident. I shouldn’t call
my mom before leaving home!”
3) “If we don’t pass the new tax plan, the economy will collapse. If that happens, the
country will fall apart!”
4) “My opponent’s campaign ideas can’t possibly work because my opponent is an idiot.”
5) “Time travel exists because no one has yet proven that it doesn’t.”
6) “Everyone says that Honda Civics are terrible cars, so they must be.”
7) “The Kansas Jayhawks are the worst team in college football, and that’s that.”
8) “I went to St. Louis once and got my wallet stolen. St. Louis is a city of thieves!”
9) “We should support the President because the sky is blue.”
10) “You can vote for Senator Kelly or you can say goodbye to democracy as we know it.”
11) “Fetty Wap’s music must be terrible because I don’t even know who that is.”
Rhetorical Fallacies Worksheet
I. Identify the rhetorical fallacy being used, or explain the flaw in reasoning.
1. Man is the highest being on the evolutionary ladder, according to biology. That’s why
women are inferior because they are not men.
2. Tom says that we should invest in solar power, but 83% of solar panels are produced by
the Chinese. I don’t think we should be supporting the Chinese instead of hardworking
Americans at a time like this.
3. Why do I call him a liar? Because he never tells the truth, that’s why!
4. If men like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt were alive
today, I know that they would agree entirely with the program I represent.
5. Miracles can’t happen, for miracles are impossible, and impossible things can’t happen.
6. I want to live as long as possible, so I’m going to move to Nebraska. Statistics show that
women in New York have an average life span of 67.03 years and in Nebraska an
average of 70.04.
7. After I started talking sweetly and lovingly to my plants, they started growing beautifully,
so my voice causes plants to grow beautifully.
8. I see no reason to listen to Smith. Anything he says will be influenced by his interest in
civil rights. His statements are bound to be distorted and unreliable.
9. Mr. King said this was the best class he has ever taught. Therefore, I am one of the best
students he has ever had.
10. I hope you’re not still going to Doctor Butcher. The newspaper told all about his being
involved in a nightclub brawl, and I happen to know that he has been divorced three
times and is now dating his receptionist. He can’t be much of a doctor.
11. If I hadn’t been so upset by the school psychologist’s calling me yesterday, I never would
have had that car wreck.
12. No news is good news. People getting divorces is not news. Therefore, people getting
divorces is good news.
13. Vitamins are essential to good health. Everyone should take vitamins each day.
14. Do you intend to go to college or dig ditches all your life?
15. It’s not difficult to understand the rising rate in juvenile crime. These kids spend hours
watching violence on television.
16. I know that it finally stopped snowing. I put my snow tires on the car.
17. The Lincoln school district is the best in the nation. Therefore, Lincoln East must be one
of the best schools in the nation.
18. Sure, it’s ok to see R-rated movies when you are sixteen. My dad said so.
19. If I hadn’t overslept yesterday morning, I would have made an A on that test in
trigonometry.
20. His untidy appearance makes him look so sloppy.