5270119798 | Scare Tactics | When fear, not based on evidence or reason, is being used as the primary motivator to get others to accept an idea, proposition, or conclusion. | 0 | |
5270157530 | Either-or | A type of informal fallacy that involves a situation in which only limited alternatives are considered, when in fact there is at least one additional option | 1 | |
5270182661 | Slippery Slope | A person asserts that some event must inevitably follow from another without any argument for the inevitability of the event in question. | 2 | |
5270186655 | Sentimental Appeals | A logical fallacy characterized by the manipulation of the recipient's emotions in order to win an argument, especially in the absence of factual evidence. | 3 | |
5270192427 | Bandwagon | The belief that an argument is valid because a majority of people accept it. | 4 | |
5270202395 | Appeals to False Authority | Using an authority as evidence in your argument when the authority is not really an authority on the facts relevant to the argument. | 5 | |
5270208217 | Dogmatism | When we assume or assert that a particular position is the only possible acceptable one. | 6 | |
5270216396 | Moral Equivalence | A term used in political debate, usually to criticize any denial that a moral hierarchy can be assessed of two sides in a conflict, or in the actions or tactics of two sides. | 7 | |
5270223627 | Ad Hominem | An argument is rebutted by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the persons argument. | 8 | |
5270237877 | Hasty Generalization | a conclusion is not logically justified by sufficient or unbiased evidence. Jumping to a conclusion, and neglect of qualifications. | 9 | |
5270250020 | Faulty Causality | Is arguing that the cause of something is that which preceded it, and which does not take into account any other possible causes. Ignores the possibility of coincidence. | 10 | |
5270264167 | Straw Man | Committed when a person simply ignores a person's actual position and substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that position. | 11 | |
5270273161 | Faulty Analogy | Assuming that because two things are alike in one or more respects, they are necessarily alike in some other respect. | 12 | |
5270280143 | Begging the Question | A logical fallacy in which the writer or speaker assumes the statement under examination to be true. In other words, using a premise to support itself. | 13 | |
5270289974 | Equivocation | When a key term or phrase in an argument is used in an ambiguous way, with one meaning in one portion of the argument and then another meaning in another portion of the argument. | 14 | |
5270297788 | Non Sequitur | When the conclusion does not follow from the premises. In more informal reasoning, it can be when what is presented as evidence or reason is irrelevant or adds very little to support to the conclusion | 15 |
AP Language and Composition Fallacies Flashcards
Primary tabs
Need Help?
We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.
For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.
If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.
Need Notes?
While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!