What exactly is fallacious reasoning? ! Weve learned about good persuasive techniques ! Overstatement, understatement, repetition, and sentence variety ! Now its important to understand the no-nos of persuasive writing ! Sofallacious reasoning is an argument based on faulty thinking or persuasion Self Contradiction ! Contradicts purpose ! Not consistent with message ! Contradiction of self or profession ! Example: A used car salespersons says, "Hey, you can!t trust those other car salesman. They!ll say anything to get you to buy a car from them." Circular Reasoning ! You assume to be true what you are supposed to be proving. ! Examples: ! Fan 1: Why do you think that football is the best sport? ! Fan 2: Because it is. ! Mitt Romney was the best candidate for president, because he is way better than the other candidates. Bandwagon ! When a statement is assumed to be right because of popularity ! Example ! 7 in 10 doctors say acupuncture works, therefore it must work ! Dallas Cowboys ! New York Yankees ! Best results = best for you Why Lebron? WHY?!?!?!?!? False Cause ! A proceeded B therefore A caused B. ! Or simplified, assuming that one thing caused another when they arent directly connected ! Examples: ! Every time I sit next to Sarah I fail my Science test. ! Bennett was Secretary of Education when large drops in national achievement scores were recorded, so Bennett's policies must have been responsible for students across the country doing worse. Over-Generalization ! When not enough evidence is found before you make an assumption of an entire group. ! Takes in everything and everyone at once, allowing no exceptions ! Examples: ! Mrs. Smith likes Diet Cherry Coke and shes a teacher, so that means all teachers like Diet Cherry Coke. ! Goths wear black and they are teenagers, so all teenagers wear black. Hasty Generalization ! Bases an inference on too small a sample, or on an unrepresentative sample. ! Often, a single example or instance is used as the basis for a broader generalization. ! Key phrases: ! It all boils down to, ! Its a simple question of, ! The easy answer is Hasty Generalization Example ! Example (from The Simpsons) ! Proctor: All right, here's your last question. What was the cause of the Civil War? ! Apu: Actually, there were numerous causes. Aside from the obvious schism between the abolitionists and the anti-abolitionists, there were economic factors, both domestic and inter- ! Proctor: Wait, wait... just say slavery. ! Apu: Slavery it is, sir. So how to remember? (Hint: Be creative!) Self Contradiction ! Used car salesman ! Puts down your self Circular Reason ! Just because ! Maze of confusion False Cause ! A proceeded B therefore A caused B ! This happened because this happened Over Generalization ! Not enough evidence ! Takes on for the entire group ! Diet Coke example Hasty Generalization ! Too simple ! Takes on too little of a population ! Its a simple question of Bandwagon ! Popularity Contest ! Dallas Cowboys ! New York Yankees ! No evidence/ logic for conclusion Background You have been in charge of writing a promo speech for one of the four wrestlers to promote their image to the audience of America. However, they want you to use a particular fallacy to see if it will work to capture the audience. Your Job You will write a 30 sec- 1 min promo for a wrestler that matches your number. Must use that fallacy in the speech 1- Circular Reasoning 2- Over Generalization 3- False Cause 4- Hasty Generalization 5- Self Contradiction Bandwagon