Define "affirmative"

Define "against"

Define "contention"

Define "debate cards"

Define "for"

Define "negative"

Show the correct format for Public Forum debate

A red herring introduces an irrelevant point into an argument.  Someone may think (or want us to think) it proves their side, but it really doesn’t.

"Girls are smarter than boys because girls have done lots of smart things.  Our neighbor Mrs. Jones is pretty smart; Joan of Arc saved the French from the English; and Madame Curie invented the light bulb".

True or False: This is an example of Red Herring fallacy.

Special pleading is when someone uses a double standard or argues for an unjustified exception.

"Porcupines make good pets.  Studies show owning a pet makes children happy!"

True or False: This is an example of Special Pleading fallacy.

Ad Hominem is attacking an opponent’s character or motives for believing something instead of disproving his argument.

“You’re wrong because you’re too dumb to understand the issue.”

True or False: This is an example of Ad Hominem fallacy.

Tu Quoque  is dismissing someone’s viewpoint on an issue because he is inconsistent in the same thing, Latin for “you too”.

Fred: I wouldn’t smoke cigarettes if I were you. It is a bad habit, and it will bring you all kinds of problems.

Jake: Don’t tell me not to smoke. You smoke two packs a day!

True or False: This is an example of tu quoque fallacy.

A straw man argument changes or exaggerates an opponent’s position to make it easier to refute.

“This new book, The Fallacy Detective, must be the best logic book around.  It has been on the best-seller list for months.”

True or False: This is an example of a straw man argument.

Circular reasoning says that "P" is true because "R" is true and "R" is true because "P" is true.

Plaintiff: I'm not lying, Judge. I'm a religious person and religious people don't lie.

Judge: How do I know you are a religious person?

Plaintiff: Because I don't lie

True or False: This is an example of circular reasoning.

The slippery slope fallacy assumes that if we take one step, nothing will stop us from taking a series of steps because each step is the same.

"Why is this feather pillow so heavy? It just has feathers in it, and feathers don't weigh anything."

True or False: this is an example of slippery slope.

The equivocation fallacy is when someone changes the meaning of a word during an argument or conversation.

"Those are my reasons for doing it, but since you don't listen to reason, you'll ignore them."

True or False: This is an example of equivocation fallacy.

How many people make up a team in parliamentary debate?

What is the first argument in parliamentary debate called?

What is the last argument of a parliamentary debate called?

This is the middle argument in a parliamentary debate:

This fallacy takes a sample from a class of things, then using the characteristics of that sample, says something about everything in that class:

This fallacy invites us to do what everyone else is doing because everyone else is doing it:

This is directly attacking the opposing debater's arguments: