In addition to learning the fallacies of logic, students would benefit from learning the following terms.

1. Ambiguity and Equivocation
Expressions that are not clear because they have more than one meaning. An "ambiguous" expression: "They are entertaining guests." It is uncertain to the reader whether "entertaining" is an adjective or a verb. An "equivocal" expression: If a columnist argued that the President played an important role in arms control negotiations, then two paragraphs later, accused him of merely playing a role, the columnist would be equivocating.

2. Cogent
Cogent is an adjective meaning appealing to the intellect or powers of reasoning. A cogent argument is one that is convincing by virtue or forcible, clear or incisive presentation.

3. Deductive Reasoning
A process in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the premises presented, so that the conclusion cannot be false if the premises are true.

4. Fallacy
Flaws in reasoning that lead to illogical statements because they are based on a false or invalid reference.

5. Inductive Reasoning
The conclusion, though supported by the premises, does not follow from them necessarily. Going from particular facts and details to generalizations.

6. Premise
A proposition supporting or helping to support a conclusion.

7. Self-contradiction
When two premises are used that cannot simultaneously be true: "Only when nuclear weapons have finally destroyed us will we be convinced of the need to control them." This statement is self-contradictory in that no one will be around to be convinced after everyone has been destroyed.

8. Specious
A specious argument seems true or plausible, but it is actually fallacious and deceptively attractive.

9. Syllogism
An argument whose conclusion is supported by two premises. One contains the term that is the predicate of the conclusion and the other contains the term that is the subject of the conclusion. For example: "All A is B; all B is C; therefore, all A is C."

10. Taking out of context
Separating an idea or fact from the material surrounding it, thus distorting it for special purposes. If Critic M writes about a movie saying, "The plot was predictable and boring, but the music was sparkling," and an advertisement for the movie say, "Critic M calls this movie 'sparkling,'" the critic's words have been taken out of context.