Especially during an election year, fallacies in logic, ethics, and emotions create rhetoric that improperly persuades listeners and readers. When writing or speaking, you’ll want to avoid these fallacies to strengthen your claim:
Begging the question/ circular reasoning
Red Herring
Non Sequitur
Strawman
Stacked Evidence
Either-or/ False Dichotomy
Post hoc/ Causal
Hasty generalization
Sweeping generalization
Ad Hominem
Guilt by association
Bandwagon
Slippery slope
Of course, we may know some of these logical fallacies by other names, but the fact remains that supporting your claim requires more than simply attacking the opposition. What positive aspects support your idea? What evidence can you cite to support your claim? Focus on finding good reasons to convince your readers and listeners of your claim rather than employing fallacies.
