8. The Either-or Thinking
This is the so-called black-or-white fallacy. Essentially, it says "Either you believe what I'm saying or you must believe exactly the opposite." Here is an example of the black-or-white fallacy:
Since you don't believe that the earth is teetering on the edge of destruction, you must believe that pollution and other adverse effects that man has on the environment are of no concern whatsoever.
The argument above assumes that there are only two possible alternatives open to us. There is no room for a middle ground.

9. The "All Things are Equal" Fallacy
This fallacy is committed when it is assumed, without justification, that background conditions have remained the same at different times/locations. In most instances, this is an unwarranted assumption for the simple reason that things rarely remain the same over extended periods of time, and things rarely remain the same from place to place.
The last Democrat winner of the New Hampshire primary won the general 
election. This year, the winner of the New Hampshire primary will win the general election. The assumption operative in this argument is that nothing has changed since the last primary. No evidence or justification is offered for this assumption.

10. The Fallacy of Equivocation
The Fallacy of Equivocation occurs when a word or phrase that has more than one meaning is employed in different meanings throughout the argument.

"Every society is, of course, repressive to some extent - as Sigmund Freud pointed out, repression is the price we pay for civilization." (John P. Roche- political columnist)
In this example, the word repression is used in two completely different contexts. "Repression" in Freud's mind meant rerstricting sexual and psychological desires. "Repression" in the second context does not mean respression of individual desires, but government restriction of individual liberties, such as that in a totalitarian state.

11. Non Sequitur
This means "does not follow," which is short for: the conclusion does not follow from the premise. To say, "The house is white; therefore it must be big" is an example. It may be a big house but there is no intrinsic connection with its being white.

12. Argument ad populum
A group of kindergartners are studying a frog, trying to determine its sex. "I wonder if it's a boy frog or a girl frog," says one student. "I know how we can tell!" pipes up another. "All right, how?" asks the teacher, resigned to the worst. Beams the child: "We can vote."

This is argumentum ad populum, the belief that truth can be determined by more or less putting it to a vote. Democracy is a very nice thing, but it doesn't determine truth. Polls are good for telling you what people think, not whether those thoughts are correct.

Common Student Errors
We've graded essays from thousands of students and we see recurring errors time and time again. The most common error on the Analysis of Argument essay is "Splitting Hairs." Splitting Hairs refers to trying to dissect errors that do no fall into the categories listed here. Remember that all questions have SERIOUS errors. The danger is that you could get distracted on a minor issue and miss the serious errors that the E-rater and the grader want to see.
3c. Analysis of Argument: Template

TEMPLATE
As with the Issue essay, there is no single "correct," way to organize an Argument essay. In our view, however, your essay should include separate "introduction" and "conclusion" paragraphs, as well as at least two "body" paragraphs in which you develop your critique of the stated argument. The following template spells out this structure in more detail, and each of the sample Analysis of Argument essays in this book follow this basic pattern.
You do not have to adhere strictly to this format in order to write an effective Argument essay. You may find that some other form works better for you, especially for the body of your essay. Also, the numbers of sentences indicated for each paragraph here are merely suggestions or guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules.
(Note: The transitional phrases used here are purposely simplistic; do not simply "parrot" them word-for-word in your essay or adopt a mechanistic fill-in the blank approach. If you do, your essay might appear stilted or contrived.)

Introductory Paragraph (2-4 sentences)
Try to accomplish three goals in your introductory paragraph:
Briefly restate the argument.
Briefly trace the argument's line of reasoning.
Indicate the extent to which the argument is logically convincing.
If possible, sum up your arguments in one sentence (or two brief sentences). 
Here's a sample template for the first paragraph that accomplishes these goals:

The author concludes that____________, because ________. The author's line of reasoning is that ______________. This argument is unconvincing for several reasons; it is____________ and it uses _____________.

First Body Paragraph (3-5 sentences)
In the first body paragraph your goal is to critique one of the following:
The reasoning of the argument
One of the premises of the argument
One of the assumptions of the argument
Here's a sample template for this paragraph that accomplishes this goal:
First of all, ____________________________ is based upon the questionable assumption ________________________________. That _______________, however, _________________. Moreover, ________________________.

Second Body Paragraph (3-4 sentences)
The purpose of the second paragraph is to address one of the following:
The reasoning of the argument 
One of the premises of the argument 
One of the assumptions of the argument 

Here's a sample template for this paragraph that accomplishes this goal:
Secondly, the author assumes that_________________________. 
However, __________________________. It seems equally reasonable to assume that ____________________.

Third (and optional Fourth) Body Paragraph
In this paragraph your goal is to critique one of the following:
The reasoning of the argument 
One of the premises of the argument 
One of the assumptions of the argument
Here's a sample template for this paragraph that accomplishes this goal:

Finally, _______________________________________. The author fails to consider __________________________________. For example, __________________. Because the author's argument _________________.

Final Paragraph (2-3 sentences)
In the final paragraph your goals are to:
Summarize your critique of the argument
State the main point of your essay 
The final paragraph is not the placer to introduce new arguments or issues. 
Sample template:
In sum, I agree that______________________. However, ____________________; on balance, _____________________.
3d. Analysis of Argument: Timing
How to write a 300-word essay in 30 minutes

Sample Essay:
The problem of poorly trained police officers that has plagued New York City should become less serious in the future. The City has initiated comprehensive guidelines that oblige police officers in multiculturalism and proper ways to deal with the city's ethnic groups. Explain how logically persuasive you find this argument. In discussing your viewpoint, analyze the argument's line of reasoning and its use of evidence. Also explain what, if anything, would make the argument more valid and convincing or help you to better evaluate its conclusion.
Step 1: Dissect the issue/argument (2 minutes)
What is the topic and scope of the argument?
topic: the problem of poorly trained police officers
scope: a given solution, centering on mandatory classes

The argument's conclusion?
The problem of po