Fallacies and “Dirty Tricks” Identification

This Critical Thinking assignment is designed to provide you experience analyzing editorials for fallacies or "dirty tricks" used to win an argument.

Reference a daily or Sunday edition of a newspaper, or use the online New York Times, and look for examples of at least 5 fallacies. The editorial section of the paper is a good place to start.

In the essay, explain and document what type of fallacy or "dirty tricks" you find. First, cite the specific editorial or article that you are referencing. Analyze the context, the type of fallacy, and why it is fallacy; use approximately two paragraphs for each of the five examples.

There are more than 44 "dirty tricks" that have labels for misleading or fallacious arguments. The following list of dirty tricks will get you started:

- Accuse him/her of sliding down a slippery slope
- Appeal to authority
- Throw in a red herring
- Throw in some statistics
- Make sweeping, glittering generalizations
- Attack the person (not the argument)
- Appeal to fear
- Use double standards
- Rewrite history
- Demonize their side, sanitize yours
- Ignore the main point
- Attack evidence (that undermines our case)
- Devise analogies (and metaphors) that support your view (even if they are misleading and false)
- Oversimplify the issue
- Raise nothing but objections

Your paper should be 2-3 pages in length, well written, and formatted according APA Style.

Fallacies and “Dirty Tricks” Identification This Critical Think...