Ad Hominem
What is the definition of an ad hominem fallacy?
It is where someone attacks the person making an argument (completely unrelated to the main argument) rather than addressing the actual argument itself.
What is the definition of polysyndeton?
The repetition of conjunctions ("and" and "or") in close succession within a sentence.
What is the definition of a colloquialism?
An informal word or phrase used in casual, everyday conversation rather than in formal writing or speeches.
What is the definition of a red herring?
A logical fallacy where someone introduces an entirely irrelevant topic into an argument to distract from the original issue.
What is the definition of verbal irony?
A figure of speech where a person intentionally says one thing but means the exact opposite.
Identify whether this is an ad hominem fallacy: "You can't trust the mayor's plan to fix the roads because he got a speeding ticket last week."
Yes, it is an ad hominem fallacy because a speeding ticket has nothing to do with the road repair plan.
Identify the polysyndeton in this sentence: "We have ships and men and money and supplies."
The repeated use of the word "and" between every single item in the list.
Identify the colloquialisms in this sentence: "I was gonna finish my homework, but I totally spaced and fell asleep."
Gonna" (going to) and "spaced" (forgot/got distracted)
Identify whether this is a red herring: "You want to talk about raising teacher salaries? Well, what about the poor animals freezing in the animal shelters!"
Yes, it is a red herring because animal shelters have absolutely nothing to do with the budget for teacher salaries.
Identify whether this is verbal irony: You drop your freshly bought ice cream cone on the sidewalk and say, "Wow, my day just keeps getting better and better."
Yes, it is verbal irony because you mean the exact opposite (your day is getting worse).
When is attacking someone's character actually appropriate and NOT considered an ad hominem fallacy?
When their character, credibility, or bias is the actual issue being discussed. In simple terms, the accusation on top of them is actually related to the argument.
When is it appropriate for a writer to use polysyndeton instead of standard commas?
When they want to create a feeling of overwhelming scale, slow down the pace of the sentence, or emphasize that there is a massive quantity of items.
When is it most appropriate for an author to use colloquialisms in a novel?
When writing dialogue, to make the characters sound authentic, relatable, and grounded in a specific region or time period.
In what specific genre of writing is using a red herring actually appropriate and expected?
Mystery or detective fiction, where the author uses false clues to mislead the reader and hide the real culprit.
What is the difference between verbal irony and sarcasm?
Sarcasm is a specific, aggressive type of verbal irony that is intended to mock, insult, or cause hurt feelings. Verbal irony can just be a harmless, humorous observation.
Identify whether this is an ad hominem fallacy: "Your argument that we should eat less sugar is invalid because I just saw you eat an entire chocolate cake!"
Yes, their personal failure to follow their own advice doesn't make their factual claim about sugar untrue.
Rewrite this standard sentence to use polysyndeton: "For dinner, we ate pizza, wings, salad, and breadsticks."
"For dinner, we ate pizza and wings and salad and breadsticks."
Identify whether this is a colloquialism or professional words: "The doctor noted a myocardial infarction on the chart."
Professional wording. (The colloquialism would be calling it a "heart attack").
Identify the red herring in this political debate: "My opponent asks how I will lower taxes. But let me tell you, what we really need to focus on is the threat of foreign spies!"
The politician ignores the question about taxes and pivots to the unrelated topic of foreign spies to avoid answering.
When is it appropriate to use verbal irony in a persuasive speech?
When you want to highlight the absurdity of a situation, add humor, or emphasize a point through contrast.
What is the difference between simply insulting someone and committing an ad hominem?
An insult just attacks the person (You are a *****). An ad hominem uses that insult as a premise to counter their argument.
If polysyndeton is the act of adding extra conjunctions, what is the rhetorical term for intentionally removing all conjunctions (e.g., "I came, I saw, I conquered")?
Hint: Normal --> Abnormal, Thiest --> Athiest
Asyndeton
What is the difference between a colloquialism and slang?
Colloquialisms are widely understood everyday phrases used across an entire culture or region (like "y'all" or "kid"), while slang is highly specific to a subculture, age group, or current trend (like "rizz" or "sus")
What is the difference between a red herring and an ad hominem?
An ad hominem distracts by attacking the person's character; a red herring distracts by changing the topic of conversation entirely.
Identify whether this is verbal irony or situational irony: A fire station burns down to the ground.
Situational irony. (Verbal irony requires someone to speak the opposite of what they mean; situational irony is an event happening opposite to expectations).