Further Discussion : Fallacies

I had a tough time dealing with fallacies. There are so many fallacies that we need to know, in order to avoid using fallacies in our arguments. Furthermore, the textbook does not make it any easier for us to learn these fallacies, as it states / defines these fallacies in just one sentence. This is the first time I'm learning about fallacies, and clearly the textbook did not help me. Most of the fallacies are confusing, and closely related to each other. Thus, I used a lot of outside sources in order to identify and familiarize myself with fallacies.
 This was a great source for understanding fallacies :

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/fallacies.html

It provides minute details, and problems each fallacy has in it. It gives us examples, and tips to identify different fallacies. This website also helps us identify fallacies in our own work. I was glad to have looked into this web page, cause most of my assigned part on our papers, was to identify fallacies.

Here is an example of one of the fallacies they mention :

Red herring

Definition: Partway through an argument, the arguer goes off on a tangent, raising a side issue that distracts the audience from what's really at stake. Often, the arguer never returns to the original issue.

Example: "Grading this exam on a curve would be the most fair thing to do. After all, classes go more smoothly when the students and the professor are getting along well." Let's try our premise-conclusion outlining to see what's wrong with this argument:

Premise: Classes go more smoothly when the students and the professor are getting along well.

Conclusion: Grading this exam on a curve would be the most fair thing to do.

When we lay it out this way, it's pretty obvious that the arguer went off on a tangent—the fact that something helps people get along doesn't necessarily make it more fair; fairness and justice sometimes require us to do things that cause conflict. But the audience may feel like the issue of teachers and students agreeing is important and be distracted from the fact that the arguer has not given any evidence as to why a curve would be fair.

Tip: Try laying your premises and conclusion out in an outline-like form. How many issues do you see being raised in your argument? Can you explain how each premise supports the conclusion?