All gingers lack souls therefore all red-heads must be evil. This statement is a prime example of the logical writing fallacy known as "over-generalization". Over-generalization occurs when an author makes a statement about a certain group and causes the audience to believe that every member of this group falls into the category described. In our example the group falling victim would be gingers, and the over-generalization piece would come by assuming that all gingers are soul-less and evil in nature. This assumption may be accurate in some instances but can not be proven true in every case. For example, the frightening horror movie character, Chucky, is a red-head who lacks a soul and is evil, but Cole Moffitt, a fellow author of Give me a Minute, and fellow ginger is a very kind person who clearly contains a soul. Thus, Cole disproves the previous over-generalization that ALL gingers are cruel and empty.
To avoid over-generalizing in your writing based on the topic at hand, one should follow these tips:
1) Do extensive research on gingers before making such a broad statement to make sure you are not including false information.
2) Before presenting something as a fact, make sure it is not based on personal biases.
3) Peer edit a document with others of differing view points to ensure information does not stereotype certain groups.
4) Continually ask yourself if the information you are reporting came from a credible source.
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