English Composition 2 - Book Report/Review Example

English Composition 2 One of the most essential handbooks on academic writing, Diana Hacker’s Rules for deals with various mechanics of writing and research. It also gives a clear explanation of various types of logical fallacies and helps distinguish between reasonable and fallacious argumentative tactics. As Diana Hacker maintains, “a number of unreasonable argumentative tactics are known as logical fallacies. Most of the fallacies – such as hasty generalizations and false analogies are misguided or dishonest uses of legitimate argumentative strategies.

” (Hacker, 371) Hacker offers various examples in the handbook which clearly indicates when these argumentative strategies are reasonable and when they are fallacious. One of the most essential logical fallacies described in the book is connected with generalizing or inductive reasoning. It is common with the writers and researchers to generalize various facts based on the sample data available to them and there is possibility for logical fallacies in these generalizations. For example, a spoonful of soup is enough to conclude how salty the entire soup in the bowl will be.

However, in such means of inductive reasoning there is possibility for various logical fallacies and the “fallacy known as hasty generalization is a conclusion based on insufficient or unrepresentative evidence.” (Hacker, 371) For example, when the scores on standardized tests in California’s public schools in a single year rise by ten points, there is a chance of hasty generalization to conclude that more children than ever are succeeding in America’s public school systems. In this case, there is only insufficient and unrepresentative data or evidences to make this generalizing or inductive reasoning.

Thus, it results in hasty generalization which is one of the major logical fallacies connected with evaluating arguments. Work Cited Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2009. P 371.