Chapter 25 Activities

1. Identify and define the three types of claims and give an example of each.
   • Claims of fact focus on whether something is or is not true or whether something will or will not happen.
   • Claims of value address issues of judgment.
   • Claims of policy recommend that a specific course of action be taken or approved.
2. Identify the two types of evidence and give an example of each.
   1. Secondary sources (external evidence)
   2. Speaker expertise
3. What is a fallacy? Identify nine types of fallacies.
   • Fallacy: A false or erroneous statement, or an invalid or deceptive line of reasoning
   • Begging the question: An argument stated in such a way that it cannot help but be true, even though no evidence has been presented
   • Bandwagoning: Arguments that use (unsubstantiated) general opinions as their (false) bases
   • Either-or fallacy: Posing an argument in terms of two alternatives only, even though there may be other alternatives
   • Ad hominem argument: Targets a person instead of the issue at hand in an attempt to incite an audience’s dislike for that person
   • Red herring: The speaker introduces an irrelevant topic into the discussion in order to divert attention from the issue at hand
   • Hasty generalization: The speaker uses an isolated instance to make an unwarranted general conclusion
   • Non sequitur: The argument’s conclusion does not connect to the reasoning
   • Slippery slope: Making a faulty assumption that one case will lead to a series of events or actions
   • Appeal to tradition: Phrasing arguments to suggest that the audience should agree with the claim because that is the way it has always been done