Appeal to Pity

This type of fallacy substitutes the actual claim of the argument with a feeling of sympathy. It is also known as a special pleading in which the audience feels sympathetic for the particular person’s feelings. Emotion is relied on as the actual evidence.

Appealing to emotion can be a powerful argumentative tool, however just because the arguer has a strong emotional appeal that creates a lot of sympathy with its audience doesn’t exactly mean that their claim should be committed to the truth. Unfortunately, because emotion creates many more reactions, the pity fallacy is one of the most common fallacies out there.

Example:
George is not getting a good grade in English. His teacher see’s how hard he works and how much he participates in class, so she gives him a better grade than he has actually earned.