Social Fallacies

Specialists in communication are often hired to clean up problems created by unthoughtful messaging. While advocates dedicate significant amounts of time and energy promoting causes, they often struggle to clearly identify their logical positions. To further the problem, in light of clear arguments advocates commonly utilize informal fallacies to persuade their target audiences. These weaknesses tend to create easily avoidable communications crises. The first step is to identify the communicative problems. 

For this assignment, identify a social issue you are personally interested in learning more about, advocating for the cause, or are against it, and identify fallacious reasoning.

In 750-1,000 words:

1. Research an advocate (individual or organization) that promotes a relevant social issue. Identify the organization and explain the relevancy of the social issue.  
2. Show the steps you took to translate the position/argument you researched into a clear logical form by writing out the logical premises and conclusions from the material presented by the advocate.
3. Identify a minimum of five informal fallacies that are made by the advocate. Explain the fallacies themselves and how each functions.

At least two academic peer-reviewed sources are required for this paper.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance. 

All B.A. in Communication majors should save the final version of this assignment with edits that incorporate faculty feedback after grading. Students should also save the assignment directions. COM-490: Communication Capstone will require students to prepare a portfolio that showcases their work in the program. Please save this assignment in multiple locations. See the “Communication Professional Portfolio Guide” under course materials for further instructions.