Examples of how fallacies can be used in argumentative writing.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Ricky C. Camus / BSAT3-2

January 30, 2012

Fallacy

Examples from newspaper clips and magazines, book passages.

Appeal to Misleading Authority

The only policy that effectively reduces public shootings is right-to-carry laws. Allowing citizens to carry concealed handguns reduces violent crime. In the 31 states that have passed right-to-carry laws since the mid-1980s, the number of multiple-victim public shootings and other violent crimes has dropped dramatically. Murders fell by 7.65%, rapes by 5.2%, aggravated assaults by 7%, and robberies by 3%.

Explanation: These examples are the use of misleadingly precise numbers, specifically, "7.65%" and "5.2%" in the anti-gun control example. Especially in social science studies, percentage precision to the second decimal place is meaningless, since it is well within the margin of error on such measurements. It is a typical tactic of pseudo-scientific argumentation to use overly-precise numbers in an attempt to impress and intimidate the audience.

Source: "Fact Card", Handgun Control, Inc.

Complex Question

"How am I to get in?" asked Alice again, in a louder tone.

"Are you to get in at all?" said the Footman, "That's the first question, you know."

Explanation: A question