Taken from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University, this list presents common logical fallacies in writing, and often in discussions of news stories.
- Slippery slope - Arguing that an action will eventually and inevitably cause another action
- Hasty generalization - Rushing to a conclusion without all the relevant facts
- Post hoc - If "A" occurs after "B," "B" must have been the cause of "A"
- Genetic fallacy - The conclusion that the origins of an idea, person, or thing determine the value or worth
- Begging the claim - Trying to prove a claim not with evidence but by validating the claim (also known as "begging the question")
- Circular argument - Restating an argument instead of proving it
- Either/Or - An oversimplification that leaves arguments with only two possible outcomes
- Ad hominem - Attacking a person's character instead of their argument
- Ad populum - The "everyone is doing it" argument
- Red herring - Avoiding an argument by ignoring the key issues and presenting opposing arguments
- Straw man - Oversimplifying an argument and then attacking that argument
- Moral equivalence - comparing different things to make the argument that they are just as good or bad
