Types of Reasoning
This type of reasoning starts with specific examples and forms a general conclusion.
What is inductive reasoning?
"You’re wrong because you’re too young to understand anything."
What is ad hominem?
“Saying video games cause bad grades is like saying reading books makes you antisocial.”
What is false analogy?
“This rule is good because it’s a good rule.”
What is circular reasoning?
Fix this: “You said we should have healthier lunches, so you must want to ban all tasty food.”
Remove the strawman and respond to what the person actually said.
This type of reasoning starts with a general rule and applies it to a specific case.
What is deductive reasoning?
“Everyone in school is using this new app, so you should too.”
What is ad populum (bandwagon)?
“I studied really hard for my science test… so I’ll definitely win the basketball game tonight.”
What is non sequitur?
“You should join the club because everyone cool is already in it.”
What is ad populum?
Fix this: “School uniforms are bad because they’re just like prison uniforms.”
Avoid the false analogy and compare things that are truly similar.
"Every time I eat peanuts, I sneeze. So peanuts must cause sneezing." Is this inductive or deductive?
What is inductive reasoning?
“My two neighbors have loud dogs, so all dogs must be loud.”
What is hasty generalization?
“You said we should recycle more. So you must want everyone to stop using electricity completely.”
What is strawman?
“Your idea about improving lunch options is dumb because you’re bad at sports.”
What is ad hominem?
Fix this: “If we let students choose their seats once, they’ll take over the whole classroom.”
Remove the slippery slope and focus on the actual situation.
“All mammals breathe air. A dolphin is a mammal. Therefore, dolphins breathe air.”
What is deductive reasoning?
"We shouldn’t talk about my missing homework — look at how messy your desk is!”
What is red herring?
“My friend tripped once while wearing Crocs, so Crocs are dangerous shoes.”
What is hasty generalization?
“I didn’t finish my project, but that doesn’t matter because my favorite show is on tonight.”
What is non sequitur?
Fix this: “This rule is correct because it’s the rule.”
Replace the circular reasoning with real evidence or reasoning.
This type of reasoning makes the best possible guess based on incomplete clues — like a detective forming the most likely explanation.
What is abductive reasoning?
“If we allow students to chew gum, next they’ll demand to bring pets, and then school will be chaos.”
What is slippery slope?
“We shouldn’t worry about pollution because the real problem is that people don’t appreciate nature enough.”
What is red herring?
“We shouldn’t listen to her plan for recycling because she once forgot to take out the trash.”
What is ad hominem or hasty generalization (depending on how you teach it)?
Fix this: “We shouldn’t talk about my missing homework — what about the school’s broken vending machine?”
Remove the red herring and address the original issue.