One of 17


Choose one of the 17 fallacies and one of the 6 persuaders and construct a brief example of each one. So, you only need to come up with a total of two examples. Be sure to identify which fallacy and persuader you’re using in your examples. Be sure to explain how the fallacy and persuader is working in each of your examples.

* For full credit, you must submit an original post; your post will be graded for completion, effort, and accuracy. Commenting on the posts of your peers is encouraged, but not required. 

Here are the 17 fallacies:

  1. Genetic
  2. Composition
  3. Division 
  4. Appeal to person (ad hominem): character, circumstances, tu quoque, poisoning the well
  5. Equivocation
  6. Appeal to popularity
  7. Appeal to tradition
  8. Appeal to ignorance
  9. Appeal to emotion: appeal to pity, apple polishing, scare tactics
  10. Red herring
  11. Straw man
  12. Two wrongs make a right
  13. Begging the question
  14. False dilemma
  15. Decision-point fallacy
  16. Slippery slope
  17. Hasty generalization

Here are the 6 persuaders: 

  1. Innuendo
  2. Euphemism
  3. Dysphemism
  4. Stereotyping
  5. Ridicule
  6. Rhetorical definition

Example: [Please refrain from using race, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc. in your examples in a way that may be offensive to others.]

Fallacy: Two Wrongs Make a Right

I see so many un-vaccinated people not wearing masks when they’re gathered indoors, so it’s not a big deal if I don’t wear one either.

Here, I am justifying that something wrong – in this case, not wearing a mask indoors if you’re not vaccinated – is actually right, solely on the basis that other people are doing it.

Persuader: Stereotyping

People from the Northeast are aggressive drivers. 

Here, I am making an unwarranted generalization (being aggressive drivers) about an entire group of people (people from the Northeast).