Chapter 5 in our book is all about identifying fallacies. This skill is very important when you are analyzing the rhetoric used in constructing arguments and evaluating them.
Read the following analysis of fallacies employed by anti-gun control proponents: "Gun Control Is Just the Latest Issue Where Facts Lose Out to Emotions and Paranoia" by Mitchell Bard. Whether or not you agree or disagree with the position the author is taking, take note of the way he critiques the positions held by his opponents and exposes the fallacies being used.
Then read this article on graded inflation: "The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation" by Alfie Kohn. The author argues that grade inflation doesn't really exist, and if grades are getting higher, that is not truly a bad thing. Again, you may find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with the points made, but pay more attention to the validity of the points and if you think the author is committing any logical fallacies in his reasoning.
Your Quick-Write Assignment, due Tuesday, is to write a critique/evaluation of Kohn's piece, arguing either:
1) that his reasoning is flawed due to fallacies (give specific evidence)
or
2) his reasoning is sound because he accurately exposes his opposition's fallacies (again, give specific evidence)
Use Chapter 5 as a resource. Further discussion of Logical Fallacies can be found at this website: http://www.logicalfallacies.info/
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