6/23/ · Counter Argument Essay: What is a Counterargument? With any argument or position, there are alternative or opposing positions. These opposing positions are called counterarguments. Think of it this way: if my argument is that dogs are better pets than cats because they are more social, but you argue that cats are better pets because they are more self-sufficient, your position is a With any argument or position, there are alternative or opposing positions. These opposing positions are called counterarguments. Think of it this way: if my argument is that dogs are better pets than cats because they are more social, but you argue that cats are better pets because they are more self-sufficient, your position is a counterargument to my position Here is an example of a simplified counterclaim and rebuttal paragraph's topic sentence: X = your argument or claim Y = the claim of the opposing side of your argument Skeptics of X _____ claim Y _____ ; however, these arguments are weak because X_____
Counterargument |
When you write an academic essay, you make an argument: you propose a thesis and offer some reasoning, using evidence, that suggests why the thesis is true. When you counter-argue, you consider a possible argument against your thesis or some aspect of your reasoning. This is a good way to test your ideas when drafting, while you still have time to revise them. And in the finished essay, it can be a persuasive and in both senses of the word disarming tactic, argumentative essay counter argument example.
It allows you to anticipate doubts and pre-empt objections that a skeptical reader might have; it presents you as the kind of person who weighs alternatives before arguing for one, who confronts difficulties instead of sweeping them under the rug, who is more interested in discovering the truth than winning a point.
Not every objection is worth entertaining, of course, and you shouldn't include one just to include one. But some imagining of other views, or of resistance to one's own, occurs in most good essays. And instructors are glad to encounter counterargument in student papers, even if they haven't specifically asked for it.
The Turn Against. Counterargument in an essay has two stages: you turn against your argument to challenge it and then you turn back to re-affirm it. You first imagine a skeptical reader, or cite an actual source, who might resist your argument by pointing out. You introduce this turn against with a phrase like One might object here that or It might seem that or It's true that or Admittedly, or Of course, or with an anticipated challenging question: But how?
or But why? or But isn't this just? or But if this is so, what about? Then you state the case against yourself as briefly but as clearly and forcefully as you can, pointing to evidence where possible. An obviously feeble or perfunctory counterargument does argumentative essay counter argument example harm than good. The Turn Back. Your return to your own argumentative essay counter argument example you announce with a but, yet, however, nevertheless or still —must likewise involve careful reasoning, not a flippant or nervous dismissal.
In reasoning about the proposed counterargument, you may. Where to Put a Counterargument. Counterargument can appear anywhere in the essay, but it most commonly appears. But watch that you don't overdo it. A turn into counterargument here and there will sharpen and energize your essay, but too many such turns will have the reverse effect by obscuring your main idea or suggesting that you're ambivalent. Counterargument in Pre-Writing and Revising. Good thinking constantly questions itself, as Socrates observed long ago.
But at some point in the process of composing an essay, you need to switch off the questioning in your head and make a case. Having such an inner conversation during the drafting stage, however, can help you settle on a case worth making. As you consider possible theses and begin to work on your draft, ask yourself how an intelligent person might plausibly disagree with you or see matters differently. When you can imagine an intelligent disagreement, you have an arguable idea.
And, of course, the disagreeing reader doesn't need to be in your head: if, as you're starting work on an essay, you ask a few people around you what they think of topic X or of your idea about X and keep alert for uncongenial remarks in class discussion and in assigned readings, you'll encounter a useful disagreement somewhere.
Awareness of this disagreement, however you use it in your essay, will force you to sharpen your own thinking as you compose. If you come to find the counterargument truer than your thesis, consider making it your thesis and turning your original thesis into a counterargument.
If you manage to draft an essay without imagining a counterargument, make yourself imagine one before you revise and see if you can integrate it. Gordon Harvey adapted from The Academic Essay: A Brief Anatomyfor the Writing Center at Harvard University, argumentative essay counter argument example.
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The Turn Against Counterargument in an essay has two stages: you turn against your argument to challenge it and then you turn back to re-affirm it. You first imagine a skeptical reader, or cite an actual source, who might resist your argument by pointing out a problem with your demonstration, argumentative essay counter argument example, e. The Turn Back Your return to your own argument—which you announce with a but, yet, however, nevertheless or still —must likewise involve careful reasoning, not a flippant or nervous dismissal.
In reasoning about the proposed counterargument, you may refute it, showing why it is mistaken—an apparent but not real problem; acknowledge its validity or plausibility, but suggest why on balance it's relatively less important or less likely than what you propose, and thus doesn't overturn it; concede its force and complicate your idea accordingly—restate your thesis in a more exact, qualified, or nuanced way that takes account argumentative essay counter argument example the argumentative essay counter argument example, or start a new section in which you consider your argumentative essay counter argument example in light of it, argumentative essay counter argument example.
This will work if the counterargument concerns only an aspect of your argument; if it undermines your whole case, you need a new thesis. Where to Put a Counterargument Counterargument can appear anywhere in the essay, but it most commonly appears as part of your introduction—before you propose your thesis—where the existence of a different view is the motive for your essay, the reason it needs writing; as a section or paragraph just after argumentative essay counter argument example introduction, in which you lay out the expected reaction or standard position before turning away to develop your own; as a quick move within a paragraph, where you imagine a counterargument not to your main idea but to the sub-idea that the paragraph is arguing or is about to argue; as a section or paragraph just before the conclusion of your essay, argumentative essay counter argument example, in which you imagine what someone might object to what you have argued.
Counterargument in Pre-Writing and Revising Good thinking constantly questions itself, as Socrates observed long ago. Writing Resources Strategies for Essay Writing How to Read an Assignment Moving from Assignment to Topic How to Do a Close Reading Overview of the Academic Essay Essay Structure Developing A Thesis Beginning the Academic Essay Outlining Counterargument Summary Topic Sentences and Signposting Transitioning: Beware of Velcro How to Write a Comparative Analysis Ending the Essay: Conclusions Revising the Draft Editing the Essay, Part One Editing the Essay, Part Two Tips on Grammar, Punctuation and Style Brief Guides to Writing in the Disciplines.
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How to Write an Argumentative Essay - Counter Paragraph
, time: 4:223 Strong Argumentative Essay Examples, Analyzed
2/25/ · Argumentative Essays: The Counter-Argument & Refutation An argumentative essay presents an argument for or against a topic. For example, if your topic is working from home, then your essay would either argue in favor of working from home (this is the for side) or against working from home In other words, give your readers fair warning that you’re moving from your main argument to a counterargument and then to the rebuttal. Read the example above again. Notice that it uses the phrase “Though some believe ” to transition from the argument to the counterargument. Here’s another example of an introduction to a rebuttal Argumentative Essay Sample Essay Topic: The list of factors that can convert computer games into real-life violence stimulators. Essay Questions: Why have computer games caught the attention of Mass Media nowadays? How can computer games stimulate violence in everyday life?
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