Page 97 - Computer Basics- Student Textbook

“You can count on WARP News for the facts, because they constantly say on the air that ‘we just give the
facts,’ so that must be a fact too!” (Weston, RA, 75).
8. Non-Sequitur (in Latin; “it does not follow”)—Drawn out conclusion which does not logically follow from the
premise.
“‘Since minorities have made such great strides in the past few decades,’ a writer may argue, ‘we no longer
need affirmative action programs’” (Behrens & Rosen, WRAC, 59).

9. Oversimplification—Proposition or offer of easy solutions to complicated problems.
“America’s economy will be strong again if we all ‘buy American’” (Behrens & Rosen, WRAC, 59).

10. Ad ignorantium (“appeal to ignorance”)— arguing that a claim is true just because it has not been shown to be
false.
“I do not have much information on this except the general statement of the agency that there is nothing in
the files to disapprove his communist connections” (Weston, RA, 74).

11. Ad misericordiam (“appeal to pity”)— Appealing to pity as an argument for special treatment.

“I know I flunked every exam, but if I don’t pass this course, I’ll have to retake it in summer school. You have
to let me pass!” (Weston, RA, 74).

12. Ad Populum— appealing to the emotions of a crowd; also, appealing to a person to go along with the crowd;
‘everyone’s doing it!’” [Weston, RA, 74]).

13. Red herring— Introduction of an irrelevant or secondary subject and thereby diverting attention from the main
subject. Usually the red herring is an issue about which people get heated quickly, so that no one notices how their
attention is being diverted (Weston, RA, 79).

14. Straw man— A caricature (depiction of somebody’s or something’s characteristics) of an opposing view,
exaggerated (overstated/overstress) from what anyone is likely to hold, so that it is easy to refute (Weston, RA, 79).

Putting the Pieces Together
1. Begin creating your outline
2. Make some notes about what you want to say in your paper, questions you hope to answer in your
research, and ideas for the main point of your paper. This plan will enable you to make the most of your
research and the brief time you will have to write your paper.
3. Organize your notes in a linear fashion organized by topic.

Steps to Writing a Research Paper

5
Six Simple Steps for Writing a Research Paper

Sometimes the most difficult part of writing a research paper is just getting it started. We suggest to you a list of six
steps that will aid you in the research paper writing process. You may develop your own steps or procedures as you
progress in your writing career; these steps are just to help you begin.

5 from the Writing Center - www. Potsdam.edu/sites/
Documents/support/tutoring/cwc6-Simple-Steps-for-Writing-a-Research-Paper.pdf
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