red herring fallacy definition communication

Try this: Show student examples of persuasive writing filled with loaded language or deeply emotional appeals like pity or disgust, then ask them about the logical basis for these arguments. As they develop an intuitive sense of fairness, they can expand their understanding of persuasive writing. Teaching young students the basics of fallaciesĮven the youngest readers can be taught to see the problems with logical fallacies such as ad-hominem (insulting the man), slippery slope or appeals to emotion. Students need to identify the most egregious of fallacies early, and expand their understanding of logical fallacies over time. Logical fallacies also should send up red flags in students’ research because they undermine the author’s credibility. Naturally, students need to learn to keep logical fallacies out of their writing assignments. But fallacious logic also undermines the academic effectiveness of writing. Logical fallacies work because they make messages feel more persuasive. And they can use this knowledge to strengthen their persuasive writing and earn better grades on their assignments.

Understanding logical fallacies can help students evaluate the credibility of marketing messages, activists’ appeals and research sources. Ideally, persuaders use facts, reasoning and logic to prove their points, but they’re always tempted to take a shortcut and make their case with logical fallacies - assertions that seem plausible but collapse under scrutiny. Advertising, politics and student writing assignments all require rhetorical devices to convince people that their arguments are valid.

Red herring fallacy definition communication