43.2: Reading About Counterarguments

Read: For information on how to write counterarguments and their importance in argumentative writing, read the following texts from OER Commons (CC BY NC SA) and The University of Arizona Global Campus (CC BY)

SLO-Summarize, analyze, and evaluate the arguments, counterarguments, and evidence in the writing of others.

 

Acknowledging Opposing Ideas and Limits to Your Argument

Because an argument implies differing points of view on the subject, you must be sure to acknowledge those opposing ideas. Avoiding ideas that conflict with your own gives the reader the impression that you may be uncertain, fearful, or unaware of opposing ideas. Thus it is essential that you not only address counterarguments but also do so respectfully.

Try to address opposing arguments earlier rather than later in your essay. Rhetorically speaking, ordering your positive arguments last allows you to better address ideas that conflict with your own, so you can spend the rest of the essay countering those arguments. This way, you leave your reader thinking about your argument rather than someone else’s. You have the last word.

Acknowledging points of view different from your own also has the effect of fostering more credibility between you and the audience. They know from the outset that you are aware of opposing ideas and that you are not afraid to give them space.

It is also helpful to establish the limits of your argument and what you are trying to accomplish. In effect, you are conceding early on that your argument is not the ultimate authority on a given topic. Such humility can go a long way toward earning credibility and trust with an audience. Audience members will know from the beginning that you are a reasonable writer, and audience members will trust your argument as a result. For example, in the following concessionary statement, the writer advocates for stricter gun control laws, but she admits it will not solve all of our problems with crime:

Although tougher gun control laws are a powerful first step in decreasing violence in our streets, such legislation alone cannot end these problems since guns are not the only problem we face.

Such a concession will be welcome by those who might disagree with this writer’s argument in the first place. To effectively persuade their readers, writers need to be modest in their goals and humble in their approach to get readers to listen to the ideas. 

Text above adapted from: Writing for Success – Open Textbook (umn.edu)   Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Argument, Concession/Acknowledgment and Refutation

We have already seen that as a writer of an argumentative essay, you do not just want to present your arguments for or against a certain issue. You need to convince or persuade your readers that your opinion is the valid one. You convince readers by presenting your points of view, by presenting points of view that oppose yours, and by showing why the points of view different from yours are not as valid as yours.  These three elements of an argumentative essay are known as argument (your point of view), concession/acknowledgement/counterargument (admission that there is an opposing point of view to yours) and refutation (showing why the counterargument is not valid). Acknowledging points of view different from yours and refuting them makes your own argument stronger. It shows that you have thought about all the sides of the issue instead of thinking only about your own views.

Identifying argument, counterargument, concession and refutation

We will now look at sentences from paragraphs which are part of an argumentative essay and identify these parts. Read the four sentences in each group and decide if each sentence is the argument, the counterargument, the acknowledgement / concession or the refutation. Circle your choice.

A

Schools need to replace paper books with e-books.

argument                counterargument       acknowledgement      refutation

Others believe students will get bad eyesight if they read computer screens instead of paper books.

argument                counterargument       acknowledgement      refutation

There is some truth to this statement.

argument                counterargument       acknowledgement      refutation

However, e-books are much cheaper than paper books.

argument                counterargument       acknowledgement      refutation

B

The best way to learn a foreign language is to visit a foreign country.

argument                counterargument       acknowledgement      refutation

Some think watching movies in the foreign language is the best way to learn a language.

argument                counterargument       acknowledgement      refutation

Even though people will learn some of the foreign language this way,

argument                counterargument       acknowledgement      refutation

it cannot be better than actually living in the country and speaking with the people every day.

argument                counterargument       acknowledgement      refutation

Exercise above adapted from: More Practice Recognizing Counterarguments, Acknowledgements, and Refutations. Clyde Hindman.  Canvas Commons. Public domain. 

More Practice Recognizing Counterarguments, Acknowledgements, and Refutations | Canvas Commons (instructure.com)

 

Sentence structure: Argument and Concession  

Read the following sentences about the issue of cell phone use in college classrooms. Notice the connectors used between the independent and the dependent clauses.

 

Although cell phones are convenient, they isolate people. 

    dependent clause                                              independent clause 

 

 Cell phones isolate people, even though they are convenient. 

                independent clause                                      dependent clause

 

In the sentences above, the argument is “cell phones isolate people”.  The counterargument is “cell phones are convenient” and the acknowledgment/concession is expressed by the use of although / even though to make the concession of the opposing argument.  

In addition, and most importantly, notice the following:

Which clause contains the writer’s argument? Which clause contains the concession?

The writer’s position is contained in the independent clause and the concession is contained in the dependent clause. This helps the writer to highlight their argument by putting it in the clause that stands on its own and leaving the dependent clause for the concession.

Notice that it doesn’t matter if the independent clause is at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.  In both cases, the argument is “cell phones isolate people.”

Notice the difference between these two sentences:

Cell phones are convenient, even though they isolate people.

     independent clause                   dependent clause

Cell phones isolate people, even though they are convenient.

          independent clause                   dependent clause

This pair of sentences shows how the structure of the sentence reflects the point of view of the writer. The argument in the first sentence is that cell phones are convenient. The writer feels this is the important aspect, and thus places it in the independent clause. In the dependent clause, the writer concedes that cell phones isolate people. In contrast, in the second sentence the argument is that cell phones isolate people. The writer feels this is the important aspect and therefore puts this idea in the independent clause. The writer of this sentence concedes that cell phones are convenient, and this concession appears in the dependent clause. 

Access original content in the link below:

https://oercommons.org/courseware/le...99487/overview

Sample Counterargument Paragraph (Access original content in the link below):

https://content.bridgepointeducation.com/curriculum/file/a8a84b6b-aa7e-488c-84b8-24bf0aefb0ae/1/Sample%20Counterargument%20Paragraph.pdf