stereotype
is like a bias, except that it is specifically applied to a
group or place. Stereotyping is considered to be particularly abhorrent because it
promotes negative generalizations about people. Many people are familiar with
some of the hateful stereotypes of certain ethnic, religious, and cultural groups.
Readers should be very wary of authors who stereotype. These faulty assumptions
typically reveal the author’s ignorance and lack of curiosity.
Sometimes, authors will
appeal to the reader’s emotion
in an attempt to
persuade or to distract the reader from the weakness of the argument. For instance,
the author may try to inspire the pity of the reader by delivering a heart-rending
story. An author also might use the bandwagon approach, in which he suggests that
his opinion is correct because it is held by the majority. Some authors resort to
name-calling, in which insults and harsh words are delivered to the opponent in an
attempt to distract. In advertising, a common appeal is the testimonial, in which a
famous person endorses a product. Of course, the fact that a celebrity likes
something should not really mean anything to the reader. These and other
emotional appeals are usually evidence of poor reasoning and a weak argument.
Certain
logical fallacies
are frequent in writing. A logical fallacy is a failure of
reasoning. As a reader, it is important to recognize logical fallacies, because they
diminish the value of the author’s message. The four most common logical fallacies
in writing are the false analogy, circular reasoning, false dichotomy, and
overgeneralization. In a
false
analogy
, the author suggests that two things are
similar, when in fact they are different. This fallacy is often committed when the
author is attempting to convince the reader that something unknown is like
something relatively familiar. The author takes advantage of the reader’s ignorance
to make this false comparison. One example might be the following statement:
Failing to tip a waitress is like stealing money out of somebody
’
s wallet
. Of course,
failing to tip is very rude, especially when the service has been good, but people are
not arrested for failing to tip as they would for stealing money from a wallet. To
compare stingy diners with thieves is a false analogy.
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