Rhetorical Appeals and Fallacies

Ethos

(Greek for "character") -Focuses attention on the writer's or speaker's trustworthiness. -Takes one of two forms: "appeal to character" or "appeal to credibility." A writer may show "ethos" through her tone, such as taking care to show more than one side of an issue before arguing for her side. When you use a counterargument to show an opposing side to an issue before explaining why your thesis is still correct, you use ethos. -Other times, the author may rely on his reputation for honesty or his experience in a particular field. Advertising that relies on doctors' statements or political records often use an appeal to ethos.

Kairos

(Greek for "right time," "season" or "opportunity") - Refers to the "timeliness" of an argument. -Often, for an ad or an argument to be successful, it needs appropriate tone and structure and come at the right time. For example, an ad featuring Avril Lavigne would be more effective for a teen magazine in 2002 than in 2012. A Sears ad featuring Kim Kardashian would be more appropriate in TeenVogue than it would be in AARP magazine. - Kairos is also the reason you might send a different kind of complaint email to your boss than you would to your mom or to a close friend. You may want similar results from all three of these recipients, but depending on who will read it, you may adjust the timing, tone and level of formality within the email itself.

Pathos

(Greek for "suffering" or "experience") -Focuses attention on the values and beliefs of the intended audience. -Appeals to the audience's capacity for empathy, often by using an imaginable story to exemplify logical appeals. -Whereas logos and ethos appeal to our mental capacities for logic, pathos appeals to our imaginations and feelings, helping the audience grasp an argument's significance in terms of how it would help or harm the tangible world around them.

Logos

(Greek for "word") - Focuses attention on the message. - Often called a "logical appeal," or an "appeal to reason." Points out internal consistency and clarity within its argument. - Frequently uses data to support its claim.

Slippery Slope

A fallacy based on the fear that one step will inevitably lead to the next. EXAMPLE: Embryonic stem cells used for research will lead to full-scale reproductive cloning.

Appeal to Authority

Accepting someone's argument because of his or her authority in a field unrelated to the argument, rather than evaluating the person's argument on its own merits. (Also called Argumentum ad Verecundiam, or "argument from modesty") EXAMPLE: My dentist says she's voting for the conservative candidate, so I will too.

Equivocation

Applying the same term but using differing meanings. EXAMPLE: The sign by the pond said, "Fine for Swimming," so I dove right in.

Division

Assuming that because a large body has certain properties, its parts do as well. (The reverse of Composition) EXAMPLE: That company donates a lot of money to charity, so every person who works there must be a charitable person.

Composition

Assuming that because parts have certain properties, the whole does as well. (The reverse of Division) EXAMPLE: All the parts of the engine were lightweight, so the engine should have been lightweight.

Straw Man

Attacking one of the opposition's unimportant or small arguments, while ignoring the opposition's best argument. EXAMPLE: People from Quebec want to secede from Canada to get their own currency. Don't they realize money isn't everything?

Appeal to Ignorance

Basing a conclusion solely on the absence of knowledge. (Also called Argumentum ad Ignoratiam) EXAMPLE: I've never seen an alien, so they must not exist.

Appeal to Popular Opinion

Claiming that a position is true because most people believe it is. (Also called Argumentum ad Populum) EXAMPLE: The governor has high approval ratings; he is therefore doing a good job.

False Cause and Effect

Claiming that because one event occurred before a second, it caused the second. (Also called Coincidental Correlation and Post-Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc) EXAMPLE: Joan was scratched by a cat while visiting her friend and came down with a fever two days later. The cat's scratch therefore caused the fever.

Complex Question

Combining two questions or issues as if they were one, when really they should be answered or discussed separately. Often involves one question that assumes the answer to another. EXAMPLE: Why did you steal the CD? (Assumes you did steal the CD)

Correlation Implies Causation

Concluding that because two things occur at the same time, one has caused the other. (Also called Cum Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc) EXAMPLE: There was a full moon the night I had my car accident, so I'm never driving again under a full moon.

Attacking the Person

Discrediting an argument by attacking the person who makes it, rather than the argument itself. (Also called Poisoning the Well or Argumentum ad Hominem) EXAMPLE: Don't listen to Becky's opinion on welfare; she just opposes it because she's from a rich family.

Appeal to Emotion

Exploiting the audience's feelings to convert them to a particular viewpoint. Appeals to fear, flattery, ridicule, pity, or spite are among the most common forms this fallacy takes. In some circumstances, appealing to emotion may be appropriate, but writers should avoid appeals to emotion when reason and logic are expected or needed. EXAMPLE: I'm sure someone with your vast experience can see that plan B is better.

Red Herring

Introducing an unrelated or invalid point to distract the reader from the actual argument. Appeal to Emotion, Attacking the Person, Ignoring the Issue, and Straw Man are a few examples of Red Herring fallacies. EXAMPLE: Protestors worried about abortion ending lives should spend more time investigating the impact of handguns in childhood deaths.

Appeal to Hypocrisy

Literally—'you also': A type of ad hominem argument that follows the following format: A argues against B, but A also participates in B, therefore A's argument is wrong. (Also called Tu Quoque) EXAMPLE: Jeffrey is of the opinion that the Iraq war is unjust. Jeffrey is himself in the National Reserve, so his opinion is wrong.

Logical Fallacies

Strong, logical arguments are essential in writing. However, the use of faulty logic or reasoning to reach conclusions discredits arguments and shows lack of support and reasoning.

False Dilemma

Suggesting only two solutions to a problem when other options are also available. (Also called Bifurcation) EXAMPLE: You can either be pro-choice or pro-life; there is no middle ground.

Begging the Question

Using a premise to prove a conclusion when the premise itself assumes the conclusion is true. (Also called Circular Reasoning, Circulus in Probando, and Petitio Principii) EXAMPLE: I know I can trust Janine because she says that I can.

Non Sequitur

Using a premise to prove an unrelated point. Two common non sequitur fallacies include Affirming the Consequent and Denying the Antecedent. Affirming the Consequent: Non sequitur fallacy that takes the following pattern: If A is true, then B is true. A is false. Therefore, B is false. EXAMPLE: If I am a Texan, then I am an American. I am not a Texan. Therefore, I am not an American. Denying the Antecedent: Non sequitur fallacy that takes the following pattern: If A is true, then B is true. B is true. Therefore, A is true. EXAMPLE: Dogs are animals. Fluffy is an animal. Therefore, Fluffy is a dog.

Hasty Generalizations

When a writer arrives at a conclusion based on inadequate evidence or a sample that is too small. EXAMPLE: I liked the last Chinese restaurant I went to, so I will like every Chinese restaurant in the world.

Stacking the Deck

When a writer tries to prove a point by focusing on only one side of the argument while ignoring the other. EXAMPLE: Summer is the best season because it's warm and sunny, everything is green, and people can swim outdoors. (No mention of intense heat, insects, or any consideration of other seasons.)

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

Oxymoron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g. faith unfaithful kept him falsely true ).

Simile

a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox ).

Allusion

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Overstatement

the action of expressing or stating something too strongly; exaggeration.

Repetition

the action of repeating something that has already been said or written.

Personification

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Understatement

the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.