9.16: Introduction to Counterarguments
What you’ll learn to do: evaluate strategies for rebuttal and refutation of counterargument
An integral part of composing a strong argument is including counterargument. This can be difficult, especially if a writer is arguing for a position s/he already agrees with. In such cases, writers can sometimes make good points to support their stances; however, their arguments are vulnerable unless they anticipate and address counterarguments. When a writer does this, it is often referred to as rebuttal or refutation. Some scholars of rhetoric differentiate the two words in terms of if you can actually disprove a claim or just argue against it; however, in this section, we will use the terms as basically interchangeable to help get you more used to their function in argument.
Contributors and Attributions
- Rebuttal and Refutation. Provided by : University of Mississippi. Project : PLATO Project. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Image of good bad paper strips. Authored by : Fathromi Ramdlon. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : pixabay.com/photos/good-bad-opposite-choice-choose-1123013/. License : Other . License Terms : pixabay.com/service/terms/#license