Setting up a straw man in an argument mischaracterizes an opposing viewpoint by falsely attributing to it an easily refutable position. Examples:
I’d rather not give the client the additional samples she requested. If we give her more, then we’ll have to give them to all our clients.
The CEO wants to move our office from New York to Philadelphia. I suppose he's thinking, "smaller city, smaller business opportunities."
The first example can also be seen as a hasty generalization (see September 9 entry) and the second as a false analogy (see September 23 entry).
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
Notes on effective writing at work, school, and home by Philip Vassallo, Ed.D.
-
A participant in one of my workshops, D. Hom, asked a question about hyphenating expressions such as “end of year.” Determining what to h...
-
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is busy creating a National Day on Writing, slated for October 20, 2009, as a way of reco...
-
READER QUESTION Which of the following sentences is correct? The contract was signed by Lee, Sam, and me . The contract was ...