VOCABULARY

FOR P

ERSUASION

• Ethical: dealing with morals, knowing what is right and wrong

• Logical: reasonable and makes sense

• Exaggeration: the act of overstating

• Testimonial: personal story

• Stereotype: grouping together based on personal experiences or opinions• Scare tactics: persuasion by scaring

• Irrelevant: not important or applicable

• Fallacy: a misleading or false belief

FALL

ACIES

THE LIS

T

EMOTIONAL/PATHOS FALLACIES• Band Wagon appeal: everyone is doing it, so you should

too. (peer pressure)

Ex: 80% of Americans are Pro-Guns, so you should be too.•Slippery Slope: Scare tactic that suggests if we allow one thing to happen, we will be heading down the slope to disaster. Ex: If we allow loggers to cut a few trees, we will soon lose all our forests.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiCq1ZMOa-w•Creating False Needs: creating a false sense of need where none exists or unreasonable heightening of an existing need. Ex: If parents want smart, successful children, they should let them hang out with J.J.

ETHICAL FALLACIES (ETHOS)• Ad Hominem (to the man): directs attention away from

the argument and to the person in order to discredit the person

Ex: The lifestyle of a political candidate is addressed in the press, rather than the policy the candidate endorses.•Guilty by Association: judging a person’s character by the character of their associates.

Ex: Cassidy is thrown in jail along with some political protesters simply because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.•Using Authority Instead of Evidence: arguer relies on personal authority to prove a point rather than evidence.

Ex: Buy this car because I am honest, trustworthy and I know your Eric.

LOGICAL FALLACIES• Begging the Questions: a claim is simply restated

without any support.

Ex: Capital punishment deters crime because it keeps criminals from committing murder.•Red Herring: irrelevant and misleading support that pulls the audience away from the real argument.

Ex: T.J. should not be elected because he would have to put his kids in daycare.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exdK7Lirngg&feature=related•Non Sequitur: (it does not follow): the conclusion does not follow from the evidence and the warrant.

Ex: Jesse should not be placed in an executive position because he does not drive cars as well as other men.

LOGICAL FALLACIES CONT.

• Straw Man: attributing an argument to an opponent that the opponent never made.

Ex: A political candidate claims that his opponent has said that he is too old to do the job when the opponent has never mentioned age as an issue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5vzCmURh7o

•Stacked Evidence: representing only one side of an issue.

Ex: TV is beneficial because it offers PBS, The Cosby Show and the news. (No mention of sex or violence)

LOGICAL FALLACIES CONT.

• Either-Or: oversimplification of a multi-position issue into a two sided issue.

Ex: A woman can either be a mother or have a career.•Post Hoc (after this, therefore because of this): faulty cause/effect

Ex: You are more attractive because you drink coke.•Hasty Generalization: basing a conclusion on too few examples.

Ex: Because some students in urban school belong to gangs, most students in those schools belong to gangs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDTBnsqxZ3k&list=PLAA052D18D3E1606B&index=11&feature=plpp_video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5DwIcnpBCA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxWpU2IIzXI&list=WL50AEFBE86C1ECB15&index=8&feature=plpp_video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG3QjfEGUqs&list=WL50AEFBE86C1ECB15&index=9&feature=plpp_video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXLTQi7vVsI