“Identifying and Critiquing Fallacies in Opinion Editorials: A Critical Thinking Exercise”

Newspaper Opinion Editorial Critique Assignment Instructions
Overview
This module provides further discussion of fallacies by discussing informal fallacies.  Though opinion editorials play an important role in discussing current events and ideas, readers must be able to discern fallacies in arguments.  It is also important to note that the writers are often not lying to their audiences, but rather they are committing errors in reasoning and logic that often lead to faulty conclusions.  This assignment will help develop the student’s critical thinking skills as they identify errors in reasoning and suggest ways to fix these problems.  
Instructions
Read an opinion editorial of your choice that was published within the past 2 months in a respected news source and write a double-spaced response to the article that is 2-3 pages in length. The types of news sources recommended are The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, etc. Do not use internet blogs such as Daily Mail Online or World Net Daily.
Your response must have 3 sections with clearly delineated headings:
• Summary of Argument: This first section must provide a summary of the argument.
• Fallacies: This second section must identify any fallacies within the article that you have learned about from your assigned readings for this course.
• Critique: This third and last section must critique the argument and explain how the argument could be improved.
Your news source and assigned readings must be cited in current APA format.  A title page should be included but no abstract is needed. A reference section is required.