english fuckery Flashcards
authority
to establish authority—-assume that your reasoned opinions and that you AUDIENCE EXPECTS you to be FAIR!!!—-show familiarity with ideas
readers depend on
writers to organize and present their material using SECTIONS, PARAgraphs, sentences, ARGUMENTS, details, and source CITATIONS
to be direct and clear
-state your main point early and clearly—-explicit claim or thesis
-Avoid overqualifying—SIMPLIFY
-use appropriate EVIDENCE
-make explicit links between ideas
-follow organized patter
rhetorical situation
the full context of any piece of writing that a message exists in—–AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE
confirmation bias
the tendency to favor or find credible information that we already agree with or that confirms what we already believe
a working thesis has
a topic indicating the subject and a comment which makes an important point about the topic
a successful working thesis is
-interesting
-specific
-manageable topic
informal outline
thesis statement—first main idea, supporting detail—-second main idea….
first principle of successful drafting
to be flexible
effective paragraphs are
-unity (stating main idea clearly in one sentence and relating all other sentences in the paragraph to that idea)
-development (details, evidence, examples)
-coherence (flows)
slipper slope
if A happens, then B, C, ….X, Y, Z will happen! thus to keep Z from occurring, avoid A
If we ban hummer because they are bad for the environment eventually the government will ban all cars, so we should not ban hummers
Fallacies
common errors in reasoning that undermine argument’s logic
hasty generalization
conclusion based on insufficent/biased evidence—rushing to conclusions
Even though it’s only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring course
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
if A occurred after B then B caused A
I drank bottled water and now I am sick, so the water must have made me sick
genetic fallacy
based on argument’s origins of a person, idea, institute, or theory determines character
the volkswagen beetle is an evil car because it was originally designed by hitler’s army
begging the claim
conclusion validated within claim
filthy and polluting coal should be banned
circular argument
restates the argument rather than actually proving
george bush is a good communicator because he speaks effectively
either/or
conclusion that oversimplifies the argument by reducing it to only two sides or choices
we can either stop using cars or destroy the earth
ad hominem
attack on person’s character than argument
green peace’s strategies aren’t effect because they are all dirty lazy hippies
red herring
diverts from key issue
the level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe but what will fishers do to support their families
Ad populum–Bandwagon
appeal that presents what most people think in order to persuade on to think the same
if you were a true american you would support the rights of people to choose whatever vehicle they want
straw man
oversimplifies opponents views and attacks hollow argument
people who don’t support the proposed state minimum wage increase hate the poor
moral equivalence
compares minor misdeeds with major atrocities
parking attendant who gave me a ticket is as bad as hitler
stage 1 writing
argument is based on personal opinion—lacks evidence and insults opponents
