2.3: The Assignment Practicing Identifying Fallacies

SLO-Summarize, analyze, and evaluate the arguments, counterarguments, and evidence in the writing of others  

Activity 2: Read the fallacies below.  Write down the correct fallacy and a short explanation of why you chose that fallacy. Remember, many arguments can have multiple fallacies so your explanation is important. As a last step, write at least one sentence explaining how you think this argument might be persuasive to a certain audience. Be sure to state the audience.

1. Either we invest more money in improving our mental health care system or our society will experience more frequent outbursts of violence in mass shootings. 
2. Living in a low income area does not mean a person will become a gang member because my uncle lived in a housing project for twenty years and became a lawyer. 
3. Chicago has an obligation to provide housing for the homeless because people without adequate shelter have a right to the resources of the community. 
4. Based on my observations of the two renters in our neighborhood, I have concluded that people who own their own homes take better care of them than those who rent. [This arguer provided detailed evidence about the house-caring practices of the two renters and of the homeowners in the neighborhood.] 
5. If we pass legislation requiring mandatory registration of handguns, we’ll open the door to eventual confiscation of hunting rifles. 
6. Those who support gun control are wrong because they believe that no one should have the right to defend himself or herself in any situation. 
7. We should question the alderman’s endorsement of charter schools because he is one of the major shareholders in a corporation that develops curricula used in these schools.

Assessment Tool: Student should receive points for the writing the correct fallacy/fallacies, points for adding an explanation, and points for adding how it can be persuasive. Below is an example rubric.