Language is very important when we make arguments. It helps us share our ideas and also changes how people understand them. One important thing is using clear definitions. Vagueness or ambiguity makes ideas not clear. When words are not explained well, people can understand them in different ways. This can cause confusion or a wrong understanding. Because of this, the argument becomes weak. People may not know what the speaker wants to say. It is also important not to use emotional words. These are words like “disastrous” and “heroic”. These words can make people feel strong emotions and change their thoughts. In topics like politics or ethics, this can be a problem. These words can make an argument look stronger, but they are not always fair or logical.
Good thinking also means we need to see when arguments have mistakes. These mistakes are called fallacies. One example is the ad hominem fallacy. This means attacking the person instead of the idea. Another example is the slippery slope fallacy. This also means saying that one small thing will lead to a big, bad result, without proof. Other fallacies happen when there is not enough evidence. For example, to generalize too quickly means to use too little information to reach a large conclusion. Appealing to ignorance means saying that something is true only because no one has shown it to be false.