Identify a logical fallacy commonly found in MTTC English prompts and provide a brief example.

Identify a logical fallacy commonly found in MTTC English prompts and provide a brief example.

• A. Straw man; misrepresenting an opponent's position to attack it, e.g., 'You want to ban all books,' when the position is actually about age-appropriate selections.
• B. Ad hominem; attacking the person instead of the argument.
• C. Post hoc; assuming causation from sequence.
• D. Appeal to authority; citing authority as evidence.

Answer: (D)

Relying on what an authority says rather than on evidence or reasoning is a fallacy known as appeal to authority. In MTTC English prompts, you’ll often encounter claims that are treated as true simply because a famous critic or expert asserts them, without presenting textual evidence, analysis of language or craft, or logical argument from the text. The strong move is to evaluate ideas by looking at the actual evidence—quotations, motifs, rhetorical features, and how they support the conclusion—rather than accepting a claim on authority alone. For example, saying a novel is “the greatest” simply because a well-known critic claimed it, without showing how the text supports that judgment, illustrates this fallacy. Authorities can be credible, but arguments should stand on reason and evidence, not on authority alone. The other options describe different fallacies: a straw man misrepresents an opposing view, an ad hominem attacks the person, and a post hoc claim infers causation from sequence.

Relying on what an authority says rather than on evidence or reasoning is a fallacy known as appeal to authority. In MTTC English prompts, you’ll often encounter claims that are treated as true simply because a famous critic or expert asserts them, without presenting textual evidence, analysis of language or craft, or logical argument from the text. The strong move is to evaluate ideas by looking at the actual evidence—quotations, motifs, rhetorical features, and how they support the conclusion—rather than accepting a claim on authority alone. For example, saying a novel is “the greatest” simply because a well-known critic claimed it, without showing how the text supports that judgment, illustrates this fallacy. Authorities can be credible, but arguments should stand on reason and evidence, not on authority alone. The other options describe different fallacies: a straw man misrepresents an opposing view, an ad hominem attacks the person, and a post hoc claim infers causation from sequence.