counterargument

Examples of counterargument in the following topics:

• Refuting Your Opposition

  • , you can show your readers the flaws in these counterarguments.
  • There are four basic parts to a refutation of an opposing argument: you introduce the counterargument, state your objection to it, offer evidence to support your view, and draw a clear conclusion by comparing the viewpoints head to head.
  • While the counterargument might make some rational sense, have research and experience validated the assumption?
  • Rather than addressing every possible objection to your thesis, you may decide at this point to eliminate the lesser objections, so as not to overload the paper with counterarguments.  
  • Finally, ensure that if your introduction and conclusion include counterargument scenarios (images, quotes, stories), they're consistent with what you've found in the research.

• Techniques for Acknowledging Opposing Views

  • Your job during the research phase is to find counterarguments and material to refute them, and in the drafting phase to construct your argument in a way that incorporates these objections and counterarguments.
  • There are several ways to introduce to your reader the counterarguments you've uncovered: quoting a source for the counterargument, paraphrasing a source, or using your own words to offer a rhetorical example or conditional statement.
  • Another way to present a counterargument is to introduce it in your own words in the form of an example.
  • You'll want to present counterarguments to your thesis in ways that respect those who disagree.
  • Modify language to be neutral in tone when presenting a counterargument

• The Importance of Addressing Opposing Views

  • However, writers may neglect the next step, which is just as important: discussing opposing viewpoints and providing counterarguments.

• Making Concessions

  • You can recognize the validity of another author's argument and counterargue it without rejecting it fully.

• Topic Sentences

  • If you have too many claims, choose the strongest ones to expand into paragraphs, or research the counterarguments to see which of your claims speak most powerfully to those.

• Introducing Quotations

  • An example of using a scholarly quote in order to provide a counterargument might be: "In his 1956 essay, "The Role of Theory in Aesthetics," Morris Weitz argues that it is not logically possible to construct a "true definition or set of necessary and sufficient properties of art," (1) because art, as a concept, does not have the kind of clear boundaries for identification necessary for a true definition.

• Understanding Your Sources

  • If you find the author credible but disagree with his purpose, it can still be valuable to consider the source in your own writing so that you can anticipate and acknowledge counterarguments later in your essay.