Card Stacking
Definition:
Selectively presenting only part of the
information in order to lean the argument one way or another.
Examples:
“What about side effects? Well, Alli diet pill
won’t
leave you jittery or make your heart race.”
“Thirty-three people wrote
in support of our decision.”
“This product has absolutely
no trans fats.”
“Hundreds of people died
instantly and hundreds more died later from
the effects of the unnecessary bomb dropped on Hiroshima.”
-
Give
examples of how you’d use this technique to
advertise your used car.
-
Give examples
of how you’ve
used this technique on your own parents.
-
Is this technique
ever justified? (For example, historically school social
studies textbooks have presented the good
and noble ideas and ignored the more embarrassing facts.
The
justification was to support patriotism.) Explain your
answer.
-
Are card stacking and lying the same thing?
Explain your choice.
-
You have been assigned to write a
paper to persuade your parents to allow you to join the
military after
graduation.
What three
reasons will you use? What three will you steadfastly
ignore?
Download a PDF file of the student handout,
Card Stacking. |
