Counterargument

1. Counterargument • What is it? • Anticipating and responding to your audience’s objections, questions, or opposing views. AKA plugging the holes in your argument. • There are 3 main ways to utilize a counterargument: In the examples below, notice the language that shows awareness of the other side of a debate (debatable thesis remember) and language that argues against it. • Acknowledging – show that you are aware of other opinions • And finally, I understand how much that happens on the street can combine to create an apparent acceptance of homelessness (Marin). • Accommodating – incorporate concerns into your argument and make a concession • Another supposed disadvantage of email is that it discourages face-to-face communication. At Microsoft, where people routinely send email back and forth all day to the person in the next office, this is certainly true(Kinsley). • Refuting – assert they are wrong and argue against • …Education by Download misses one of the keys to learning. […] The very act of taking notes—not reading someone else’s notes, no matter how stellar—is a way of engaging the material (Gitlin). [This is from a piece arguing against online education,  ]

2. Counterargument • How to construct it in your papers: • When you write a counterargument, it will have two parts: Representation and Refutation. Counterargument should have it’s own section (at least one paragraph) in your paper. The Rep and Ref could go all in one paragraph, or they could be separate paragraphs – particularly if they are each rather long, dividing them might be more visually appealing) • Representation: Explain what the counter view point is. Treat this kind of like your own supporting points. Imagine for this part that you are writing for the opposite side of your paper topic. • What is the opposite side? What exactly is the point (topic sentence) that the other side would address? • Provide examples/explanation for why the other side would believe this. • For example: If you are arguing that campus parking should be free, then the counterargument would be a reason why it fees are necessary– an opposing supporting point. • If you are arguing that hall monitors are a solution to binge drinking on college campuses, then a counterargument would be problems with that solution (how do we pay?) and any highly regarded competing solutions proposed by others (author X proposes security checks at the door).

3. Counterargument • How to construct it in your papers: • Refutation: Bring the essay and your audience back to your own argument and explain why you are still correct. • After you’ve represented the counter view point, you can now return to your own side of the argument. Why despite the problem that the other side would bring up, is your argument (your thesis idea) still valid? Consider the following: • Why is your opponent wrong? • What holes are in their argument? • Are there ways around the problem? – Particularly useful if the other side has a valid point. Try offering a solution or arguing for why the problem isn’t that bad. • For example: If I’m making a positive argumentative evaluation (Article/Book Review), and my counter view is that the article is too long and rambly, well my refutation to that could be something along the lines of: • Perhaps the article could be shorter and more concise (making a concession), however (transition into refutation), the additional information provided by the author does show why the author was interested in this topic, and for some readers could make the article more interesting. (Then I would provide an example such as a quote from the article to show this “interesting” idea more clearly.)

4. Counterargument Sample Counterargument: Here you see both parts (Rep and Ref) are in one paragraph: Also note the use of transitional language to signal the reader that the essay is shifting between sides of the argument. Phrases like However, Although, On the other hand, etc are good transitions for switching between sides. Key: Topic Sentence Transitions Refutation Topic Explanation Example On the other hand, McKinney Enterprises may reject Peters’ ideas about the workplace environment as Peters tends to be a little biased in his article “I Feel So Damn Lucky!”.Peters tends to focus on office workers and people with white-collar jobs. Peters does not mention people with blue-collar jobs; although, most of these workers would benefit from Peters’ survival skills. Also, some may criticize Peters’ article as he is trying to appeal more to businessmen than to businesswomen. For instance, Peters stated three sports analogies in his article. These sports analogies dealt with the sports baseball and football (Peters 231). Baseball and football are commonly associated with men more so than women. Peters tries to hide this bias towards men, though, by including women in one particular line in his article as he stated he “expects women to dominate managerial roles” (Peters 231). Althoughthe McKinney Enterprises would have a valid point for rejecting Peters’ views because of its small bias, the staff should definitely still consider Peters points on how to be an effective employee.Even though Peters may appeal a little more to a male audience, his survival skills for the workplace apply both to men and women . These survival skills are enormously imperative to new employees. Once again, the goal for McKinney Enterprises is to better accustom new employees and the article “I Feel So Damn Lucky!” is trying to orientate new and old employees as well. Representation Refutation