Teaching Argument Writing with Frankenstories

Logical fallacies are one indicator of weak points in practical arguments.

Logical fallacies are patterns of reasoning that are proven to be invalid (i.e. the structure of the argument doesn't assure that the conclusion is true).

There are specific kinds of logical fallacies that turn up all the time in arguments, because:

• Unless you look really closely, they seem logical at face value; or
• They exploit psychological biases that make them particularly persuasive (even though they might not be logical)

For this reason, it can be very useful to learn about common fallacies people make.

• In your own arguments, they can help you identify gaps in your reasoning, forcing you to find stronger evidence, build intervening steps of logic, or place limits around your claims.
• In other people's arguments, they can alert you to flaws, or help identify an argument being made in bad faith.

Different kinds of fallacies turn up in different kinds of argument, and have different kinds of purposes and motivations.

Over the next few pages, we'll look at some common fallacies, and how they tend to appear in arguments.

We'll also show how you can use preset prompts in Frankenstories to practice playing with fallacies.