ILRLR 3300 ARGUMENTATION &
DEBATE TEXTBOOK TERMS. EXAM
2025/2026 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
100% PASS.
Acceptance - ANS Possible response to an argument - to accept it as presented (find it
persuasive, or at least lacking in any major flaw)
Adequacy - ANS Test of evidence - is it sufficient to support the claim?
Accessibility - ANS Test of evidence - availability
Ad hominem fallacy - ANS An intentional effort to attack a person rather than an argument,
by damaging an opponent's character or reputation or by engaging in name-calling and labeling
Ad populum fallacy - ANS A fallacy - appealing to the audience and its interests rather than to
the merits of the argument
Advocacy - ANS Promoting or opposing an idea in public settings
Affirmative case - ANS In policy debate, a series of arguments challenging the status quo
1 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
,A fortiori argument - ANS Type of literal analogy that asserts that what is true of its evidence
case is even more likely or even less likely to be true of its conclusion case.
Example: We thought fat was bad, turns out sugar is even worse, so we have to treat it as such
Ambiguity - ANS More than one meaning of a word or phrase in a single context
Analogy - ANS For the sake of supporting a claim, a comparison of something with which we
are familiar to something with which we are less familiar, or about which we have some
question
Antecedent - ANS "If" clause in a conditional statement; "that which comes before"
Appeal - ANS A persuasive strategy directed to the audience's emotions, sense of humor, or
deeply held loyalties and commitments
Appeal to authority - ANS An appeal that urges compliance with the directive of a person,
group, or document possessing power
Arguing comparative advantage - ANS A response to a pragmatic argument or policy
proposal; Arguing that an alternative course of action carries greater practical advantages than
the proposed plan does
Arguing from correlation alone - ANS A fallacy - assuming causation when there is only
correlation
Arguing from ignorance - ANS A fallacy - Falsely assuming that a conclusion can be reached
on the basis of the absence of evidence. One form of this argument assumed that because
something has not been disproved, it has therefore been proved.
2 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, Arguing from succession alone - ANS A fallacy - attributing cause simply on the basis of one
event preceding another. Also called "arguing post hoc," --> "after this, therefore because of
this"
Argument - ANS A claim advanced with a reason or reasons in its support
Argumentation - ANS The cooperative activity of developing and advancing arguments and of
responding to the arguments of others
Argumentative contexts - ANS The spaces, venues, and relationships in which arguments are
made and heard
Argumentative definition - ANS A definition employed strategically to categorize an object or
event so as to support a particular conclusion to an argument
Argument from direction - ANS Argument that strings together two or more conditional
statements to predict a remote result from a first step.
Example: If guns are registered --> no gun owner will be safe from the threat of confiscation
When guns are taken from private citizens --> they will have no defense against a gov't intent on
denying other freedoms
Thus, laws that require registration of guns are the first step toward dictatorship
Argument from example - ANS Argument that draws a conclusion about an entire class of
objects or events based on a particular instance or a limited number of cases, rather than about
a single member of a group.
AKA generalization
Argument from function - ANS Argument that locates the essential nature of an object,
event, or institution in its social or natural function
3 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
DEBATE TEXTBOOK TERMS. EXAM
2025/2026 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
100% PASS.
Acceptance - ANS Possible response to an argument - to accept it as presented (find it
persuasive, or at least lacking in any major flaw)
Adequacy - ANS Test of evidence - is it sufficient to support the claim?
Accessibility - ANS Test of evidence - availability
Ad hominem fallacy - ANS An intentional effort to attack a person rather than an argument,
by damaging an opponent's character or reputation or by engaging in name-calling and labeling
Ad populum fallacy - ANS A fallacy - appealing to the audience and its interests rather than to
the merits of the argument
Advocacy - ANS Promoting or opposing an idea in public settings
Affirmative case - ANS In policy debate, a series of arguments challenging the status quo
1 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
,A fortiori argument - ANS Type of literal analogy that asserts that what is true of its evidence
case is even more likely or even less likely to be true of its conclusion case.
Example: We thought fat was bad, turns out sugar is even worse, so we have to treat it as such
Ambiguity - ANS More than one meaning of a word or phrase in a single context
Analogy - ANS For the sake of supporting a claim, a comparison of something with which we
are familiar to something with which we are less familiar, or about which we have some
question
Antecedent - ANS "If" clause in a conditional statement; "that which comes before"
Appeal - ANS A persuasive strategy directed to the audience's emotions, sense of humor, or
deeply held loyalties and commitments
Appeal to authority - ANS An appeal that urges compliance with the directive of a person,
group, or document possessing power
Arguing comparative advantage - ANS A response to a pragmatic argument or policy
proposal; Arguing that an alternative course of action carries greater practical advantages than
the proposed plan does
Arguing from correlation alone - ANS A fallacy - assuming causation when there is only
correlation
Arguing from ignorance - ANS A fallacy - Falsely assuming that a conclusion can be reached
on the basis of the absence of evidence. One form of this argument assumed that because
something has not been disproved, it has therefore been proved.
2 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, Arguing from succession alone - ANS A fallacy - attributing cause simply on the basis of one
event preceding another. Also called "arguing post hoc," --> "after this, therefore because of
this"
Argument - ANS A claim advanced with a reason or reasons in its support
Argumentation - ANS The cooperative activity of developing and advancing arguments and of
responding to the arguments of others
Argumentative contexts - ANS The spaces, venues, and relationships in which arguments are
made and heard
Argumentative definition - ANS A definition employed strategically to categorize an object or
event so as to support a particular conclusion to an argument
Argument from direction - ANS Argument that strings together two or more conditional
statements to predict a remote result from a first step.
Example: If guns are registered --> no gun owner will be safe from the threat of confiscation
When guns are taken from private citizens --> they will have no defense against a gov't intent on
denying other freedoms
Thus, laws that require registration of guns are the first step toward dictatorship
Argument from example - ANS Argument that draws a conclusion about an entire class of
objects or events based on a particular instance or a limited number of cases, rather than about
a single member of a group.
AKA generalization
Argument from function - ANS Argument that locates the essential nature of an object,
event, or institution in its social or natural function
3 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
