Exercise 1:

Which of the following passages contain arguments? In the arguments that you identify,
which statements are premises, and which are conclusions? Paraphrase and put in
standard form.

• Premises:

I think Dr. Kevorkian is a great humanitarian; you’d better not say anything critical about
him.

Conclusion:

Or I’ll punch your ugly face.

• Premises:

The old man was dreaming of the loins when it began to rain. He sat up, wiped his face
with his bandana, and looked around. It was raining on him and on the ocean.

Conclusion:

And he knew it was raining on the lonely churchyard where Thelma was buried.

• Premises:

The new health plan will not work because it will cost much more than it will save and
because it will diminish our freedom of choice.

Conclusion:

So I will vote against it.

• Premises:

When will you learn not to trust everyone who tells you a sad story? They’re just making
a fool of you.
 Conclusion:

You should learn to think for yourself.

• Premises:

This budget plan is a poor one. It just balances the budget on the backs of the old and the
poor, and such a budget is a poor one.

Conclusion:

I intend to veto it.

• Premises:

The most likely suspect in a child murder is a close family member. Tom is the child’s
stepfather.

Conclusion:

So Tom probably did it.

Exercise 2:

Classify the following sentences according to which uses of language they most likely
illustrate: informative, evaluative, directive, expressive, ceremonial, or per
formative.

1. Oh! (Expressive)

2. The car is black. (Informative)

3. Please sit down. (Directive)

4. The pizza is hot. (Informative)

5. What day is this? (Directive)

6. Congratulations! (Ceremonial)
 7. Have a nice day! (Expressive)

8. Don’t you think you should go to class? (Evaluative)

9. It’s 7 P.M. (Informative)

10. I now pronounce you husband and wife. (Per formative)

11. Happy birthday! (Ceremonial)

12. More coffee? (Directive)

13. What a movie! (Evaluative)

14. I can’t stand anchovies on my pizza. (Informative)

15. To be or not to be, that is the question. (Directive)

16. When are you going to grow up? (Evaluating)

17. Praise the lord! (Directive)

18. Adultery is wrong. (Evaluative)

19. I am forty three years old. (Informative)

20. Art is long life is short (Evaluative)

21. You’d better stop that this minute. (Directive)

22. When I met you, time stood still. (Evaluative)

23. He still hoped to win. (Informative)

Exercise 3:
Find witch fallacy of ambiguity is committed in the following passages. In many only a
suggestion of a fallacy is given. Ask yourself: what fallacy would result if this passage is
part of an argument?
 A bus uses more fuel than a car, so all buses use more fuel than all cars.
(Composition)

 Furniture ad: we stand behind every bed we sell.

(Assignment)

 None of the cuts by itself will kill him; so all of them together won’t kill him.
(Composition)
• Whatever runs has legs. This car runs, so it must have legs.

(Division)
• Wanted Dresser suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers.

(Assignment)
• No individual is indispensable, so we could do without everyone.

(Composition)
• He turned and walked away with his dog, Tony laughing and waving to us.

(Assignment)
• You can’t be too honest.

(Equivocation)
• America expects you to do your duty.

(Assignment)
• Goodwill toward men.

(Accent)
• A cat eats more than a locust, so all cats eat more than all locusts.

(Composition)
• A nuclear weapon is more destructive than any other weapon, so nuclear weapons have
destroyed more than all other weapons put together.

(Composition)
• Every part of the human body has a function so the whole human being must have a
function too.

(Composition)
• Ad for laundry: Ladies who drop their clothes off here will receive prompt attention.
 (Amphiboly)
• The buffalo is disappearing fast. So if you see one, you’d better look quickly.

(Amphiboly)
• The old bum walked along the tracks with his dog. Moscow, cursing and muttering under
his breath.

(Amphiboly)
• No news is good news. Iranian threats are no news. So Iranian threats are good news.

(Equivocation)
• Shirts and shoes required to eat inside.

(Amphiboly)
• The average family has 1.3 children. The Joneses are an average family, so they must
have 1.3 children.

(Division)

Exercise 4:
Identify each fallacy of presumption.
• This egg is rotten, so the rest must be rotten too.

(Hasty generalization)

• Smoking is just a harmless habit, no worse than chewing gum.

(False Analogy)

• Have you beaten that drinking problem?

(Complex Questions)

• Do you love me? Just answer yes or no.

(Complex Questions)
• Are you still cheating on your taxes?

(Complex Questions)

• Cocaine is bad for you, so all drugs are bad for you.

(Hasty generalization)

• Being a teacher is like being a prison warden; discipline is the most important thing.

(False Analogy)

• We must not allow the pointy headed intellectuals and eggheads to rule our lives.

(Questions beginning epithet)

• I favor good citizenship because I value the person who takes her civic duty seriously.

(Questions beginning epithet)

• Either you’re a winner or you’re a loser.

(Black and white)

• Are you saved or damned?

(Black and White)

• I’m not fat; I’m just pleasing plump.

(Special pleading)

• Do you want to pay cash for your subscription?

(Complex Questions)