Common logical fallacies - Essay Example

Common Logical Fallacies: Introduction The common logical fallacies common are the defects that weaken an argument in an essay. The logical fallacies are common in articles such as newspaper, advertisement and other sources. They can be very persuasive to readers by they are meant for the casual reader and not considered in academic papers. Using logical fallacies in argument in academic writing might make the points in the paper weak. However, an argument in the academic paper should be strong and convincing.

The common logical fallacies are a weak analogy, ad populum, appeal to pity, appeal to ignorance, appeal to ignorance, red herring and false dichotomy (Kirszner et al, 2012).. Literature Review Weak Analogy In this type of paper, the comparison is between two or more objects, ideas or situations. In a case where the objects are being compared are the same then it will make the argument weak. According to Kirszner and Mandel (p 22, 23) it very key to plan an essay before beginning to write in order to develop strong points to avoid weak points in cases of analogy writing.

Ad Populum In this fallacy, the argument is after the desire of most people, so the writer would use this to get the audience of most people. According to Kirszner and Mandel (p 23), it is very key to determine the purpose of writing and determine the audience you are writing before you start writing the paper to avoid the cases of Ad populum that sometimes provides unbalance argument in an essay. Appeal to Pity Appeal to pity commonly occurs when a writer tries to get readers to accept a recommendation just by making them feel sorry for someone in their argument.

The audience in a newspaper and not in academic papers might need this kind of argument. According to Kirszner and Mandel (p23), it is imperative to understand your assignment first and the type of audience you ought to write to before beginning to write. Appeal to Ignorance Writer appears argues that is no mature conclusion in a paper and instead picks any conclusion for the essay. This kind of fallacies should be avoided in Academic writing. It is because in the academic paper you are allowed to write for the textbook, magazines or browse internet to source for ideas Kirszner and Mandel (p26).

At the end of the paper then a writer would be able to make a mature conclusion rather considering the fallacious appeal to ignorance. Red Herring Red herring is the art of raising a different argument distracting the reader. This type of argument is not reflected in academic papers. According to Kirszner and Mandel (p28) it is critical to radiate ideas from the topic of discussion. False Dichotomy In this kind of essay, the writer creates only one option. However, there are several options. In case of an academic paper a writer is required to source for ideas from many sources to have several options not to the interest of the author but to the interest of the paper Kirszner and Mandel (p26).

Reference Kirszner, L., & Mandell, S. (2012). The Brief Wadsworth Handbook. Cengage Learning.