Transcript Example – if

LOGICAL FALLACIES
A question to get us started…
• “Every year in California, many students fail to pass the exit exam. I
believe that laziness is the reason for so many failures. I have known
several students who were unable to pass, even after two or three tries,
and all of them spent more time doing other things than studying. I
don’t think schools should waste money helping lazy students like the
ones I know pass the test when they take it a second time. Besides, if
they’d paid attention in the first place in school they wouldn’t have a
problem passing the test. I paid attention, and the test was easy for
me.”
• Tell me about what is logically wrong with this statement.
Why isn’t it convincing? What other problems does it have?
What is a fallacy?
• The previous slide contained an
example of a logical fallacy.
• Definition of fallacy: a misleading or unsound
argument. Any of various types of erroneous
reasoning that render arguments logically unsound.
(“erroneous” means “containing an error”)
• See the handout for some common logical fallacies
Why are logical fallacies tricky?
• Avoiding logical fallacies can be tricky because
they sound good on the surface.
• At first glance, why might the statement from our
class example be a little bit convincing?
• Look at the example fallacies provided on the
handout. Which ones look good on the surface?
Logical Fallacies in the Media
• Where do we see logical fallacies? In the media?
In advertisements?
• Logical fallacies are not always as easy to spot as
the ones that I have provided for you. Be a savvy
reader. Be aware of author biases and of these
patterns we have discussed. If you see these
fallacies in something you read, question them.
How can you fix a logical fallacy?
• If you catch yourself or a peer in a logical fallacy, how do
you fix it?
• Moderate your language: One of the fundamental rules of
persuasive writing is “Don’t make claims you can’t prove.”
• Also, if you make a sweeping generalization and the
audience can think of even ONE example that disproves
your generalization, you’ve lost credibility with your
reader.
• Give more specifics – this especially helps with proof by
too few examples, “allness”, and oversimplification
Fixing logical fallacies
• Allow for complexity – this definitely helps with
oversimplification and either/or reasoning
• Avoid common, over the top phrasing – say things in
a new way
• Build credibility – your own, and that of your sources.
Show yourself to be knowledgeable and reasonable,
and your sources to be trustworthy.
• Look at the big picture – think of various
people/issues who might be affected by your idea and
consider them before making blanket statements.
Revision Guidelines
• Revising your work is an important part of the
writing process. Every paper has the potential
to be a fine piece of writing, but only after
being polished and perfected.
• After you have written a first draft and gotten
feedback from your peers, it is time to revise.
• Don’t wait to revise! Start revising now!
• Waiting doesn’t help you.
What a Revision Is NOT:
• A revision is NOT only correcting grammar
mistakes.
• A revision is NOT adding one or two paragraphs
onto the end of your draft.
• A revision is NOT about making the minimum
word/page count and then stopping.
What a Revision IS:
• A revision makes changes that require you to
delete, change, and add phrases and sentences
throughout the assignment.
• In fact, a revision may require you to completely
rewrite large sections of your assignment.
• A revision tries to fix problems with details and
confusing sentences that your peers and your
instructor pointed out.
• A revision corrects grammar and spelling
mistakes that you find.
Improving Your
Sentences and Paragraphs
Subject-Verb Agreement
• Do your subjects agree with your verbs?
• Know the rule of subject-verb agreement:
• Singular subjects require singular verbs,
and plural subjects require plural verbs.
• Many attempts to persuade the reader
(has, have) been attempted.
Subject-Verb Agreement
• A verb should agree with its subject, even if
another noun fall in between them.
– The price of soybeans fluctuate according to
demand.
– The price of soybeans fluctuates according to
demand.
Are you using the appropriate
forms of your verbs?
• If you are discussing an event that has
happened, are you using the past tense?
• Are you being consistent in using the same
verb tense? If you begin in one tense,
generally you should continue in the same
tense.
Parallelism
• Sweet potatoes are highly nutritious, providing dietary
fiber, iron, magnesium, and are a good source of vitamins
A and C. Most people are aware that we need the mineral
iron to have adequate energy, but iron plays other
important roles in our body, body. These roles including
include red and white blood cell production, resistance to
stress, and also proper immune functioning, and the
metabolizing of protein.
• General Electric paid millions of dollars to dredge the river
and for removing to remove carcinogens from backyards.
Information on local cleanup efforts can be obtained not
only at the local government office but also by going to at
the public library.
Vague Pronouns
There are two common kinds of vague
pronoun reference. The first occurs when
there is more than one word that the
pronoun might refer to; the second, when
the reference is to a word that is implied but
not explicitly stated.
Vague Pronoun: Correction Example
The troopers burned a refugee camp as a
result of the earlier attack. This was the
cause of the war.
What does this refer to? The editing makes
clear what caused the war.
• Revised Sentence:
• The troopers burned a refugee camp as a
result of the earlier attack. This destruction
of the camp was the cause of the war.
Missing or Misplaced Possessive Apostrophe
• NEVER use an apostrophe (‘s) to make a word
plural (more than one)
• Apostrophes are used to make things possessive
(indicates something BELONGS to something)
– To make a noun possessive, you must add either
an apostrophe + s (Shae's book) or an apostrophe
alone (the boys' gym).
– Exception to the rule: possessive personal
pronouns, however, do not take apostrophes: hers,
his, its, ours, yours.
– Special note on “it’s” vs “its”: because “it’s” is already a
contraction of two words (it is) we cannot include an
apostrophe as we normally would in the possessive “its” (as
in: “the dog ate out of its bowl”.
HOW TO FIX WORDY AND
CONFUSING SENTENCES
Eliminating Unnecessary Words
• Accepted by five different colleges, Tasha seems to be facing an
apparently very difficult decision.
• Accepted by five colleges, Tasha is facing a difficult
decision.
• It is necessary for Americans today to learn to speak more than
one language.
• Americans must learn to speak more than one
language.
• There are four large moons and more than thirty small ones that
orbit the planet Jupiter.
• Four large moons and more than thirty small ones orbit the
planet Jupiter.
Example – if
“If you take a sentence as being made up of a series of
parts and you were to analyse the complicating effect of
those parts separately, then you would see that the
more parts you have, and the more complicated those
parts are, the more complex is the sentence and the more
potentially difficult it is to understand that sentence,
although it is not just about the length, it is also often
about the kinds of structures that you are using.”
– Suggestions: Is the if-clause really necessary? Remove weak ‘to
be’ verbs; keep your main point clear and uncluttered; where
possible, avoid mixing complicated parts in the same sentence,
e.g. ‘if-clauses’, negatives, comparatives, that-clauses, etc., an
example goes a long way to helping your reader understand.
Example – if
• “If you take a sentence as being made up of a series of parts and
you were to analyse the complicating effect of those parts separately,
then you would see that the more parts you have, and the more
complicated those parts are, the more complex is the sentence and
the more potentially difficult it is to understand that sentence,
although it is not just about the length, it is also often about the
kinds of structures that you are using.”
• All sentences are made up of a series of parts.
Longer sentences are potentially more
complicated and difficult to understand. Some
words naturally add to the complexity of the
sentence, and therefore we should try to say
exactly what we mean in as few words possible.
Example – no/not/un• “In spite of the fact that there were
unconvincing reasons for less attention being
paid to the lack of funding for the new
development plans, the implementation of the
plans was not anyhow unsuccessful.”
Suggestions: remove unnecessary parts, replace weak ‘to be’ verbs
(there is/are/were etc.), turn negatives into positives where possible
(from 5 to 1), avoid unnecessary nominalisations.
• “Although funding for the new development
plans was not given adequate attention, they
were still implemented successfully.”
Example – on/in/with
• “While age progresses in a fixed way for all people, diet
can vary from one person to another, although both
factors can have an impact on the level of health of
individuals, with the impact being positive in combination
with exercise and good genes, but not so positive if
combined with, e.g., a stressed work life.)
–
•
Suggestions: Split the sentence; reorganise the content, make it shorter (some
40%), reduce prepositions (from 10 to 3); bring keywords nearer the front (i.e.
health):
“Although health naturally deteriorates with advancing
age, the choice of a healthy diet and regular exercise can
improve health prospects. Potential negative risks to
health include inherited factors and life stressors, such as
work-related stress.”
Example – and
• “Other support structures were shared posts between
hospitals, health centres, universities and polytechnics,
regional workgroups and persons in charge in
organisations, educations and collaboration practices. In
the regions, strategic plans and leadership, evidence-based
practice, know-how of personnel and regional
collaboration were developed.”
Suggestions: reduce conjunctions (from 6 to 3); move keywords closer to
front; reduce length (managers); turn passive into active; avoid preposition
phrases (use inanimate agent); sequence the lists from simplest to most
complex.
• “Support took the form of training, collaboration practices,
and regional workgroups for managers. Posts were also
shared between hospitals, health centres, universities and
polytechnics. Development at the regional level focused on
strategic plans, leadership, evidence-based practice,
knowledge enhancement, and regional collaboration.”
Example – Passive/Active and Repetition
• “As a result of the increasing pressure of an ageing population in
Finland, new models for the integration of home care and home
nursing services, discharge practices from hospital to home and
use of confidential electronic patient information records to share
information between agencies have had to be developed by
policy makers in Finland. This has brought about many changes
in the work practices for home care and home nursing staff.”
Suggestions: Turn passive into active; remove repetition (in Finland); remove
some information (don’t cram); clarify the pronoun ‘this’; simplify the list elements
and noun clusters; remove prepositions.
• “With the increasing pressure of an ageing population in
Finland, policy makers have developed new models
for integrated home care services, hospital discharge
practices, and electronic patient records. These new
models have led to changes in the work practices of home
care and home nursing staff.”
Revise Wordy Phrases Checklist
WORDY
CONCISE
• As far as ____ is concerned
• Concerning
• At the time that
• When
• At this point in time
• Now
• In spite of the fact that
• Although
• In the event that
• If
• In view of the fact that
• Because or since
LIVE AND IN CLASS!
Q&A ON MLA FORMAT
AND CITATION
Next Week:
Tuesday, May 26 – Topics: Editing and Proofreading the
Research Paper. Perfecting MLA citation and more!
• Due:
– Bring a copy of your Research Paper to edit and work on in
class.
– Check out and APPLY the Revision Checklist on page 105 of
Pop Perspectives
Thursday, May 28 – LAST DAY OF CLASS.
Topics: Wrap up Project 3 and Research Paper. Discuss the
Reflection Essay and the Extra Credit
• Due:
– Final Draft of Research Paper. Upload to turnitin.com