Fallacies

Question 1

Oversimplification (P)

Answer 1

provides easy answers to complicated questions, often by appealing to emotions rather than logic

Question 2

Red Herring (P)

Answer 2

uses misleading or unrelated evidence to support a conclusion

Question 3

Scare Tactics (P)

Answer 3

try to frighten people into agreeing with the arguer by threatening them or predicting unrealistically dire consequences

Question 4

Ad Populum/Bandwagon Appeals (P)

Answer 4

encourage an audience to agree with the writer because everyone else is doing so (“to the crowd”)

Question 5

Glittering Generalities (P)

Answer 5

emotionally appealing words that are meant to evoke action; the words sound great but have no real reasoning behind or support for claim

Question 6

Using Authority Instead of Evidence/Testimonials (E)

Answer 6

occurs when someone offers personal authority as proof

Question 7

Failing to Accept the Burden of Proof/Assertion (E)

Answer 7

the assertion of a claim without presenting a reasoned argument to support it; the propagandist rarely argues and just makes bold statements that he asserts to be true and goes on and on about making them

Question 8

Guilt By Association/Transfer (E)

Answer 8

calls a person’s character into question by examining the character of that person’s associates

Question 9

Ad Hominem/Name Calling (E)

Answer 9

attacks a person’s character rather than that person’s reasoning

Question 10

Lying (E)

Answer 10

a major tool of a propagandist

Question 11

Plain Folks (E)

Answer 11

an approach politicians use to make a candidate see like an everyday guy or gal in order to make the candidate seem more trustworthy and credible

Question 12

Hasty Generalization (L)

Answer 12

draws general and premature conclusions from scanty evidence

Question 13

Faulty Casualty (L)

Answer 13

arguments that confuse chronology with causation; one event can occur after another without being caused by it

Question 14

Stacked Evidence/Slanting/Card Stacking/Selection (L)

Answer 14

represents only one side of the issue, thus distorting it; such an argument is circular; trying to prove one idea with another idea that is too similar to the first idea

Question 15

Repetition (L)

Answer 15

a technique used to drum the message into the target audience’s subconscious by repeating key words or phrases over and over until resistance to the message weakens, and the target audience eventually accepts it; often used in media and by advertisers

Question 16

Pinpointing the Enemy (L)

Answer 16

when a person or propagandist often tries to find an enemy–real or imagined–to attack; this unites everybody against the enemy and encourages them to stop thinking for themselves and to avoid viewing the propagandist as the enemy; it creates a scapegoat

Question 17

Rhetorical Questions (L)

Answer 17

when a person or propagandist peppers his/her speeches with rhetorical questions which he intends to answer himself/herself not wanting listeners to answer them