Session 5: Logic

A. Fallacies (*=more likely to appear on test)

1. ad hominem*

2. straw man: oversimplifying or creating a weaker argument that is  easy to knock down

3. bandwagon

4. post hoc ergo propter hoc (false causality)*

5. slippery slope

6. red herring: intentional distraction*

7. begging the question (because I'm an A student, you can't give  me a C=circular logic)*

8. scare tactic

9. appeal to false authority

10. non sequitur*

11. either / or (oversimplification)

12. appeal to emotion

13. hasty generalization (generalize from insufficient evidence) [computers never work for me! / ipod broke = ipods suck, don't buy them]

B. Rhetorical / Argumentative Terms

Refutation: rebuttal; rejecting the counterargument

Syllogism: 3 part argument; major / minor premises; conclusion [audience has to agree with both premises to agree with conclusion]; a form of deductive reasoning (as opposed to inductive, which goes from particular evidence to a general conclusion...)

Recommended practice multiple choice sets and all the old sample essays at :

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/english_lang/samp.html?englang