LOGICAL FALLACIES/MISTAKES IN

WRITING
• Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine the
logic of your argument.

• Logical fallacies are found in many places—ads, politics, movies.

EXAMPLES OF LOGICAL FALLACIES
 Hasty Generalization

Making a claim based on one or two examples that may not be relevant
to the claims or subject.
Examples:
Some teenagers in our community recently vandalized the benches in
the park. Teenagers are so irresponsible and destructive.
 Slippery Slope

• Arguments that proclaim that one incident will start a chain of events
leading to devastating results.
• Are your claims over-reaching or exaggerated?
Example:
Animal experimentation reduces our respect for life. If we don’t respect
life, we are likely to be more and more tolerant of violent acts like war
and murder. Soon our society will become a battlefield in which
everyone constantly fears for their lives. It will be the end of civilization.
 Either/Or Fallacy

• Reducing complex arguments to simply right/wrong

• There are more than two sides to arguments.
• Ask yourself if someone can come up with an alternative?
Example:
We can either stop using cars or destroy the earth.
 Bandwagon Fallacy-everyone is doing it!

• When evidence merely says that the reasoning is because others do

or like it; you are not providing solid evidence.
• Who is “everyone”?
• Are they really “all” thinking the same way?
Example:
Everyone supports this proposal. Therefore I am also supporting it.
 Appeal to False Authority

• Using a source quote from someone who is not an expert in the field.

Example:
We should abolish the death penalty. Many respected people, such as
Paris Hilton, have publicly stated their opposition to it.
Ad populum (Appeal to the people)

The arguer tries to convince the audience to do or believe something

because everyone else (supposedly) does.

Example:
Gay marriages are just immoral. 70% of Americans think so!
Ad hominem-attacking the person

• Attacking one’s character rather than the issue.

• Does your reason for arguing stand on solid ground, or are you just
insulting the opponent?
Example:
Green Peace's strategies aren't effective because they are all dirty, lazy
hippies.
 Genetic Fallacy:
• This conclusion is based on an argument that the origins of a person,
idea, institute, or theory determine its character, nature, or worth.
Example:
The Volkswagen Beetle is an evil car because it was originally designed
by Hitler's army.
 Appeal to pity

The arguer tries to get people to accept a conclusion by making them

feel sorry for someone.
Example:
I know the exam is graded based on performance, but you should give
me an A. My cat has been sick, my car broke down, and I’ve had a cold,
so it was really hard for me to study.
 Appeal to ignorance

• The arguer basically says, “Look, there’s no conclusive evidence on the

issue at hand. Therefore, you should accept my conclusion on this issue.”
Example:
“People have been trying for centuries to prove that God exists. But no
one has yet been able to prove it. Therefore, God does not exist.”
NOTE: There is one situation in which doing this is not fallacious: if
qualified researchers have used well-thought-out methods to search for
something for a long time, they haven’t found it, and it’s the kind of thing
people ought to be able to find, then the fact that they haven’t found it
constitutes some evidence that it doesn’t exist
SOURCES:
• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/logic
_in_argumentative_writing/fallacies.html
• https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writ
ing-speaking-resources/logical-fallacies
• https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/fallacies/