Identifying Fallacies and Rhetoric
Assignment
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Bassham, Gregory, et al. Critical Thinking: A Student’s Introduction. Available from: VitalSource Bookshelf, (7th Edition). McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US), 2022.
· Textbook: Chapters 4, 5, 6
·
Lesson
Instructions
Sample Essay
The arguments against marijuana are just wrong and shouldn’t even be discussed.
I use it, and I’m just fine, so I don’t see how it could be harmful.
I don’t see those people who are fighting to outlaw marijuana also out there fighting to outlaw alcohol.
Many important writers, artists, and athletes agree with my opinion. There’s no evidence that marijuana can kill you or make you sick, so it must be okay.
This is just old people making war on young people. If they’d just stop, we’d have a peaceful country instead of all this left/right division. But they’ll keep at it. Anything they think is “addictive” will be fair game. Pretty soon, they’ll be outlawing video games and social media.
How are young people supposed to relax and have fun? Pretty soon, we’ll all be staying home doing jigsaw puzzles.
Well, I don’t think we’re going to put up with it much longer. If they think the riots a couple of years ago were bad, they haven’t seen anything. Their arguments against marijuana are worthless.
This assignment will assess your ability to recognize fallacies and rhetoric in the argument presented in the sample essay above. It will also assess your ability to avoid fallacies and negative rhetoric in expressing ideas.
1.
Analyze the argument in the sample essay. State the conclusion and summarize the reasons.
2.
There are at least 10 fallacies in the essay on marijuana. Identify at least five or seven of these by the terms introduced in either the text or the lesson.
3.
Rewrite the essay, using similar ideas but avoiding fallacies and negative rhetoric. For example, the first paragraph might be rewritten as “Arguments opposing marijuana lack legal and scientific support.” (200-250 words)
Writing Requirements
· 1-inch margins
· Double spaced
· 12-point Times New Roman font
· Title page
This criterion includes
Conclusion and Summary
Identifying Fallacies
Original Reasoning
Rewriting With Accuracy
APA Format (Part 3: Rewritten Essay)
