Students Again

Logical Fallacy Assignment

1. Don’t listen to Jim Smith’s ideas about computerizing the Marketing Department. His divorce last year was a disgrace. His wife got a very generous settlement.

Ad hominem: Smith’s divorce is a personal matter that does not affect the issue of computerization. This is an argument “Against the Speaker.”

2. I know the insurance report shows that the driver who is covered by our company was speeding, but I’m not planning on sharing that report with the owner of the other car. Maybe he won’t know how to get the report from the Police Department, and he’ll settle the claim for a lower amount.

Card Stacking: The insurance agent is planning on withholding relevant evidence and only sharing facts and opinions that support his interests.

3. We need to get a new sign for our store because Farmer Jack, Meijer’s, and Food City just got brand new signs for their stores.

Ad Populum (Bandwagon): The employee is arguing that it is valid to buy the sign because so many other companies are purchasing them even though the sign for his store may be satisfactory or the only sign that the owner can afford at this time.

4. There must be something wrong with the new circuit breaker in our office. Since it was installed today, I feel like I need to wear a jacket or sweater.

Post-hoc, ergo propter hoc: It’s possible the circuit breaker is malfunctioning, but the person could be cold because he or she is sick or the furnace may be broken, etc. There could potentially be a faulty causal relationship, so more specific evidence should be offered to prove the claim before it is accepted as factual.

5. We can’t let the teenagers in the company drive the company car because you know they always drive too fast.

Stereotyping: The employee is judging a particular age group as a unit rather than evaluating them as individuals with their own driving records.

6. If the neighbors see you working at Officemax, they’ll think you dropped out of school because some of those employees never graduated from high school, and they’re over 18.

Guilt by Association: The parent is assuming that people will judge a person as guilty without examining the evidence merely because the person chooses to associate with a particular group that has been labeled as inferior in some way.

7. According to Dr. Smith, global warming is definitely a fact, and he even published an article on global warming for Time Magazine.

Argument from Authority: Even if Dr. Smith is a recognized authority in this field, saying global warming is a fact is not valid unless factual evidence is cited to support the claim.

8. All parents have their children’s best interests at heart.

Hasty Generalization: The speaker has examined particular instances of parental concern but has omitted the evidence of child abuse, a frequent problem in our society.

9. If we don’t start selling more products online, we’ll be out of business by next year.

Either/Or Fallacy: This argument poses only two alternatives when it is possible that sales may improve if the company takes other measures, such as offering rebates to in-store customers.

10. The Bic pen is effective because it works well.

Circular Argument: The speaker assumes what must be proven by rephrasing the original claim that the pen is effective. Factual evidence is instead needed to prove that the product is good.

Assignment Questions

What one idea or project or assignment would you most want to include in your class? Why?

One idea I would include in my class would be a weekly two page research paper from a topic of their choice. The purpose of these “quick research” assignments would be to continually assess my students’ MLA and grammar skills. I would not focus on content because, obviously, two pages would not be sufficient for exceptional content development. This would also allow my student to practice grammar and MLA standards, and receive constant feedback to aid improvement. This would help students work out their weaknesses and have a good idea of what I expect (on a paper as a professor) prior to their “real” research assignments being due. Also, this would probably naturally improve their creative writing ability due to practice. In turn, this may result in more interesting research papers for me to read while I have to grade a stack a mile high.

What one idea or project or assignment would you most want to exclude in your class? Why?

The assignments I would exclude would be exams. Exams are a good way of knowing whether my students are reading material I assign. However, it also becomes evident in their writing style. If they are doing the reading I will probably see things like techniques discussed in the book about how to create an interesting introduction, etc.

The Odyssey: Books 8-12 Assignment

1. Example of an epic simile.

An example of an epic simile in The Odyssey occurs in book 9 on lines 438-441, “as a blacksmith plunges a glowing ax or adze in an ice-cold bath and the metal screeches steam and its temper hardens – that’s the iron’s strength – so the eye of the Cyclops sizzled round that stake!

2. Example of a catalog.

An example of an epic catalog is in book 11 on lines 268-368. In this example numerous people of the dead that Odysseus sees are listed. Some of the names listed include Tyro, Asopus’, Alcmena, the mother of Oedipus (Jocasta), Chloris, et al.

3. Find use of repetition.

An example of the use of repetition in The Odyssey (Books 8-12) is the use of the line “…Dawn with her rose-red fingers…” This line is repeated throughout these four books. It appears in line 1 of book 8, line 168 in book 9, and in many other places it is repeated.

4. Find a speech in elevated language.

An example of the use of elevated language is in book 10 on lines 35-38, “But now an enticing sleep came on me, bone-weary from working the vessel’s sheet myself, no letup, never trusting the ropes to any other mate, the faster to journey back to native land.”

5. Find some evidence of what Greek customs were.

Some evidence of Greek custom is shown in book 12 on lines 283-299. This passage is detailing the warning Odysseus received about avoiding the island of the sun and not to touch the sun gods (Helios) sheep. This shows that Greeks have a custom of fearing and respecting the gods.

Love Spell Poem Assignment

Love Spell for Those Who Still Search

O, Keeper of hearts I beg you

Let me live life with a tortured soul.

Let me…

Never think again

Always be erroneous

Feel the ripping, the tearing, the utter frustration

Wonder why I put up with it all

Bleed from the heart every time a tear should fall.

Experience…

Our greatest joy

Complete self

Single embrace everlasting.

I can…

Never know what is intended

Not comprehend – emotional mystery –

Love

Torture is eternal happiness.

Let Me… Experience… I Can… Love

Parody Assignment

Robert Pinsky

(b. 1940)

ABC 2000

Any body can die, evidently. Few

Go happily, irradiating joy.

Knowledge, love. Many

Need oblivion, painkillers,

Quickest respite.

Sweet time unafflicted,

Various world:

X = your zenith.

INSERT NAME

(b. INSERT YEAR)

ABC’s of Dating 2006

All boys can date, eventually. Few

Get hearts, immediate joy.

Kindness, luck. More

Now obvious, perverted,

Quite rushed.

Sophisticated teens unprepared,

Venereal wound:

X = you’re zealous.

Tombstones - Epitaph/Epigram

Epitaph:

Here lies a man who was well

Known and liked by many – who

Made a difference in the world

And humanity.

Epigrams:

Here lies NAME, a reserved man

Who deafened every ear within distance of hand.

Here lies NAME, he was very wealthy indeed

Always receiving donation during his long life of need.

Here lies NAME, who did good things

Especially when the devil pulled his strings.