English Essay

After reading pages 338-341 ("Checking for Logical Fallacies") in The Norton Field Guide to Writing and watching the Fallacies Project video, choose three logical fallacies that you would like to discuss for this forum. For the discussion, explain the logical fallacy and then provide an example that you find to illustrate each principle. A good place to look for examples are in advertisements or commercials. You may also find them in television shows, movies, or political campaigns, but these are just suggestions. Unfortunately, they are everywhere.

Look over other postings and discuss what you read. Feel free to point out other examples to help move the discussion along.

The essay should around 700 words.

The first attachment is the text book---The Norton Field Guide to Writing by Richard Bullock and Maureen Daly Goggin. THIRD EDITION.

The others are reading resources.

Eight Logical Fallacy Explanations and Examples

The following video will provide you with eight logical fallacy explanations and examples. Also, your reading from the textbook for this module contains written explanations (pages 338-341 in The Norton Field Guide to Writing). After watching the video, post your own examples in the discussion forum.

Fallacy Project

Here is a list of the logical fallacies mentioned in the video:

1. Slippery Slope
2. Straw Man
3. Post Hoc
4. Red Herring
5. Non Sequitur
6. Bandwagon
7. Ad Hominem
8. False Authority

Visuals to Support your Research

To begin, look through your current MLA version of your research paper and find a few places where you can add in some visuals to further strengthen and support your research. Keep in mind that a visual could be a chart, a graphic, a photo, a drawing, a cartoon, line art, or some other form. It can be anything visual that you can readily insert into the paper, position, resize, and cite.

Option One: Creating Your Own Visual

Consider that you might want to use the table/chart feature in Word to create a graphic. You could also use other graphic programs that you know to create a visual. Still another option would be using a photograph that you create. Again, other options for creating visuals exist, and it s OK to create a more advanced visual. However, it is also OK to keep it more straightforward.

Option Two: Finding a Visual from Research

If creating your own visual is not for you, then another option would be to find a visual via Internet searching. Just keep in mind that you will need to cite the visual in your text and in your Works Cited using MLA style, so be sure to keep track of where you found the visual so you can cite it. Two good ways to find visuals are to use the find images feature of Google and to use the AP Images Database on the Sinclair and OhioLink Library's pages.

Google Images

To use Google Images do the following:

1. Go to www.google.com/images
2. Type in the keywords related to your topic.
3. Search for graphics related to your topic.

For example, I searched the term farm windmills. Here's a photo that I found.

I could use the above photo as an illustration in a paper arguing that wind power is a viable alternative to electricity produced from carbon-based fossil fuels.

You might also be able to find a chart or graph that would help you support your research. Here's an example of a graphic chart that illustrates that wind produces a considerable chunk of the current power we use. You could use such a chart in a section of your paper that is developing the claim that windmills are viable and a growing alternative for power.

Consider that you will need to cite the visual source found via Google Images. So again, be sure to keep a record of the information you will need to make a Works Cited entry, including the website name, the website address, who created the visual (if mentioned), and the title of the section where the visual appears. I will discuss citing an image in a later section of this lesson.

AP Images

Another option is to use the database AP Images on the Sinclair Library and Ohio Link websites. You will need to select your school (Sinclair Community College), enter your name, and your Tartan card ID number to gain access to this resource.

Here's a direct link to the database:

AP Images Database

Here's a link to several more image databases available to Sinclair students:

http://libguides.sinclair.edu/content.php?pid=233926&sid=1993408

I decided to search for a photo of solar panels. I found the following graphic which I downloaded and then added into this document.

To insert the above image, I first went to AP Images, logged in, and searched for solar panels. Then, I looked through the search results and selected the one that interested me. I opened the photo that interested me. Then, with my computer mouse, I right clicked and selected save as. If you are using a Mac with a touch pad, you will select the control button and touch the touch pad. Then, I named the photo something I could easily remember and saved it to my desktop. At this point, I returned to my document and used Insert Image or Insert Photo to put it into my document. You can also cut and paste the image.

Citing Your Image in MLA Style

Sample of Citing a Graphic in MLA Style from Diana Hacker's Website

Here's a link to a sample paper that illustrates how to cite a visual in MLA style. Once you click on the link, you need to scroll down to the graphic in the paper. The graphic is an editorial cartoon. Notice that the graphic is labeled as Fig. 1 and then followed by a caption that explains the graphic. You will want to write your own caption so that your audience will more readily see how the graphic relates to and supports your paper. In the sample in the link, the caption says, "A cartoon shows the dangers of using cell phones and other devices while driving." Notice how this caption helps the reader see the point of the graphic. Here's the link.

http://content.bfwpub.com/webroot_pubcontent/Content/BCS_4/Hacker7e/Model%20papers/Hacker-Daly-MLA.pdf

My Sample

Here's a sample from me as well. First, you will need to insert the graphic into the flow of your text. In the .doc version of your paper, avoid using the wrap around option and just insert the graphic in a central position as follows. Second, label it as Fig. 1 or whatever number it is. Then, follow with the caption that explains the purpose of the graphic.

Fig. 1. Green roof reduces carbon emission and adds beauty (First Eco-Friendly Green Roof)

Third, later in your list of Works Cited, you will include an entry for the graphic. Since this graphic is not credited to a specific person, I am citing it by the title it had in the original source. It is always better to cite to a specific person when a creator's name is given. If no creator name is given, then cite by the title or the organization. In this case, the organization is not helping credibility, so I'm citing by the title. Here's how it should look in the Works Cited page (except it should have a hanging indent).

First Eco-friendly Green Roof in NYC for Educational Study. 2005. Photograph. New York City. The Calhoun School. Web. 7 May 2012..

Note: The URL is optional, but it could be helpful since graphics are harder to find via a search engine.

Notice how the parenthetical citation at the end of the caption and the first part of the Works Cited entry correspond. Just as in other citations, there needs to be a direct correlation between how you cite the graphic in the text/body and the beginning of the Works Cited entry.

Summary for Adding In Graphics and Submitting a Doc Version

A quick review: So far in this module, we have discussed strengthening your paper by adding a visual that supports your claims. It is important that the visual relates to your text and that it is added or placed near text that it will support. Avoid randomly placing visuals in your paper. You can find these visuals via search engines and via the database AP Images. You can also create your own visuals. In addition to finding or creating the visuals, you will also need to label them as Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 and so on, give them an explanatory caption, a parenthetical citation using the creator's last name or a part of the title, and a corresponding MLA entry.

NOTE: Be sure to place/insert visuals near text that they support and illuminate. Avoid placing visuals in random locations.