The guilt by association rhetorical flaw arises when the writer unreasonably associates an opponent or a proposition with a guilty party. It is related to the red herring (see the previous entry, August 26, 2006). Example:
How can we elect a man who served under an impeached president?
The thinking is flawed because of its assumption that anyone associated with the impeached president must be just like the impeached president.
Conversely, Check your endorsements as well. Equally misleading could be honor by association, in which the writer unreasonably associates an ally or a proposition with an esteemed party. Example:
The fact that the employee leave policy is supported by Governor Richford is sufficient reason to establish it.
Reasonable people expect more evidence than a governor’s endorsement to support a claim.
To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: http://firstbooks.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=144
-
A participant in one of my workshops, D. Hom, asked a question about hyphenating expressions such as “end of year.” Determining what to h...
-
It's a good thing that the hyphen is not a frequently used punctuation mark because most people don't know how to use it. The hyp... -
READER QUESTION Which of the following sentences is correct? The contract was signed by Lee, Sam, and me . The contract was ...