Worksheet

Ad Hominem Arguments

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

Give your class a lesson in logical reasoning. This worksheet, which focuses on ad hominem arguments, goes step by step through an example. After examining the argument, learners assess a second conversation for ad hominem arguments and rewrite the exchange using logical reasoning.

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CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Ideas
  • Since the example is quite long and somewhat dense, go through it together as a class in a step-by-step manner; you could even have learners act out the roles in the dialogue
  • Use this as part of your unit on logical reasoning and/or persuasive writing
Pros
  • The detailed example is a dialogue between a student and teacher about homework; pupils will likely be engaged in this example and interested in how to logically argue for less homework
  • The skill of identifying and avoiding ad hominem arguments will serve pupils well as they write and speak persuasively 
Cons
  • The lines provided for student response are rather narrow; you may wish to create a class set and have pupils write in journals or on separate sheets of paper