Common Fallacies
📋 What it is
A fallacy is a reasoning error that can make a bad argument feel convincing.
🗣️ Coach says
Fallacies are traps that FEEL logical but aren’t. “Everyone’s doing it” (bandwagon), “you’re wrong because you’re young” (attacking the person, not the point). Naming a fallacy out loud is how you disarm it.
🧠 Memory hook
A fallacy feels right but breaks a rule. Name it to tame it.
😂 Giggle
What did the valid argument say to the invalid one?
"Your conclusion doesn't follow — you need better premises!"
😲 Whoa!
Advertisers use fallacies on purpose — “9 out of 10 people choose us” is a bandwagon appeal designed to make you feel left out.
✅ Quick check: “You can’t trust her science project — she’s only in 6th grade.” Which fallacy?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Attacking the person (ad hominem) — her grade level has nothing to do with whether the project is correct.
Ad hominem dodges the argument by targeting the arguer instead of the reasoning.
🪄 Trick question: “This must be the best pizza — it has the longest line.” Fair reasoning?
Careful — think it through, then reveal.
No — a long line is a bandwagon appeal; popular doesn’t prove best (maybe it’s just slow or cheap).
Popularity isn’t evidence of quality; that’s the bandwagon fallacy.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Find one ad or comment that uses “everyone’s doing it” or attacks a person. Name the fallacy out loud.