| A | B |
|---|
| Ad Hominem | An attack on the character of the individual rather than his/her actual arguments or qualifications |
| Association/Fals Authority | Ideas or Actions are (un)acceptable because of people associated with them |
| Bandwagon | If a majority of people believe or do something, everyone else should, too |
| Begging the Question | Loading the conclusion in the claim; assuming that something is true before it's proven |
| Circular Argument | A sentence or argument that restates rather than proves |
| Either/or (false dilemma) | An oversimplification that reduces alternatives to only two choices when more may actually exist |
| Faulty Comparison/False Analogy | Basing an argument on a poor comparison of two things, ideas, events or situations |
| Genetic | Arguing that the origins of a person, object or institution determine its worth |
| Hasty Generalization/Stereotyping | Conclusion is not justified due to insufficient/biased evicence |
| Loaded Question | An unanswerable, biased question--sometimes allowing only two possible answers: yes or no |
| Non Sequitur | Any illogical conclusion (usually reached from faulty premises or poor evidence |
| Oversimplification | Ignores an issue's complexities, variations, or exceptions |
| Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc | Arguing that because Event B occurred after Event A, Event A caused Event B |
| Red Herring/ Distraction | Avoiding countering an opposing argument directly by introducing a new or non-issue to the argument |
| Ad Hominem | "Rudy Giuliani divorced his loving wife of many years. How could he possibly be qualified to be mayor?" |
| Association/False Authority | "The hijackers were Egyptian; obviously Egyptians support terrorism." |
| Bandwagon | "Over 70 percent of Americans favor the adoption of a national sky marshal program; what's your problem?" |
| Begging the Question | "The antiwar demonstrators of the 1970's should be remembered as the cowards that they were." |
| Circular Argument | "President Reagan was a great communicator because he had the knack of talking effectively to people." |
| Either/Or (false dilemma) | "Either we ban boxing or hundreds of young men will be senselessly killed." |
| Either/Or (false dilemma) | "Which do you prefer: giving me your wallet or getting stabbed?" |
| Circular Argument | "Plagiarism is dishonest because it is deceitful." |
| Faulty Comparison/ False Analogy | "Teaching kids about sex education is like letting them loose in a candy store." |
| Genetic | "He speaks with a funny German accent. He must be a Nazi." |
| Genetic | "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" John 1:46 |
| Hasty Generalization/Stereotyping | "Professor Brugger is a hard grader because he gave my roommate a D- last year." |
| Loaded Question | "Hey, Tim, have you finally stopped beating your wife?" |
| Loaded Question | "Hey, Frank, have you quit hanging around crack addicts yet?" |
| Non Sequiter | "Japanese children spend 40% more time in the classroom than U.S. children. American parents should take more interest in the kids' education." |
| Oversimplification | "The influence of foreign cars almost destroyed the American auto industry." |
| Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc | "Because I forgot to leave my porch light on, someone robbed my house." |
| Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc | "Because I turned a wallet into Lost & Found, I discovered $10 in my coat pocket." |
| Red Herring/Distraction | "Equal pay for women in an important issues, but I wonder whether women really want to take the responsibility that comes with higher paying jobs." |
