| A | B |
|---|
| ad hominum/appeal to personal factors | Senator Blabalot once stepped on his cat's tail; he is an animal hater! |
| tu quoque | Well, everybody else did too! |
| bandwagon/misuse of numbers | "Eat garbage; three million flies can't be wrong!" |
| the bare assertion | "That's just how it is!" |
| begging the question | I hate Mrs. Cutler's class because I'm not happy in there." |
| oversimplification | "It's a simple question of economics." |
| black and white thinking | "Put up or shut up." |
| complex question | "Why can't I be paid for cleaning my room?" |
| red herring | Using a volatile issue to throw everyone off the track. |
| appeal to force | "If you don't vote for me, I'll break your leg." |
| irrelevant appeals to authority | "Mrs. Cutler recommends Bondo for any automotive repairs." |
| appeal to popular sentiment | argumentum ad populum |
| appeal to pity/argumentum ad misericordiam | "I didn't do my homework because I stubbed my toe, my cat had a hairball, and my turtle was sick." |
| appeal to ignorance/argumentum ad ignoratiam | "Sure I believe in aliens, no one has ever proved that they don't exist." |
| hypothesis contrary to fact | "If only I hadn't stepped on his foot..." |
| obfuscation | "Most terpsichorean ecdiasiasts agree that flamingo plummage is finest for costuming." |
| ambiguity | "We were introduced to the cannibal; later he had us for lunch." |
| slanted language | "I am slender. You are skinny. She is anorexic." |
| hasty generalization | "I saw Mr. Smith talking to a board member from Martin County; he must be taking a job there." |
| composition and division | "All of the auditions were outstanding. We'll have a great band this year." |
| false cause/post hoc, ergo propter hoc | "Ever since Matilda went to Europe, she has refused to bathe. We should never have let her go." |
