Writing a Rebuttal / Counterargument Paragraph



Name: ___________________________________________________________ Block: ______ Date: _________________________

Writing a Counterargument Paragraph

Counterargument: _________________________________________________________________________

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Why is it important to have a counterargument paragraph?

• Shows that you recognize that not everyone will agree with you, and that you understand why.

• By anticipating disagreement with your argument and persuasively arguing against it in your counterargument, you convince your reader to trust you and your claim.

STEPS TO WRITING A COUNTERARGUMENT

1. State your understanding of the counterargument. For your essay, choose a reason that supports the opposite side of your claim that you feel you can effectively argue against (we will refer to this an opposing reason). To help you with this, refer to your t-chart and notes that you should have created when determining what position to take. What would be a reason to support the opposite side of your claim that you can argue against? Addressing this reason should be the first sentence of your counterargument paragraph.

2. Once you come up with an opposing reason that you can argue against, use a sentence starter below to address that this is a counterargument paragraph:

- I cannot argue with

- While it is true that - Admittedly - Granted

- Some may say… - Of course, some people may not agree because…

- Some people think…

3. Support this opposing reason with evidence from the text.

4. Explain your point of view against this opposing reason and prove why it is wrong. You need to use a turnaround transition to indicate that you do not agree with the counterargument and its reasoning. Such turnaround transitions include:

- but - still - although - on the other hand

- however - yet - otherwise - even though

a. Support your argument with evidence from the text. You may also choose to further elaborate to

create a solid argument against the opposing reason

5. End your counterargument with a concluding statement that reinforces your point of view with powerful, persuasive language.

EX. Let's say you have a persuasive essay assignment, and have settled on a thesis statement which claims that gun control laws will make Americans safer (controversial topics are a good choice for persuasive essays). You might proceed with examples of places (states, countries) where gun laws have reduced crime. A counterargument might be that people need guns to protect themselves against intruders and government tyranny. After you've provided the counterargument, your job is to refute it in a balanced and reasonable way, and prove your thesis statement correct.

EX. Another example might be a claim that raising the driving age to eighteen on a national level is important for highway safety. Again, a good approach for supporting this claim would be to find examples of states and countries where there's a direct correlation between older drivers and fewer accidents. A counterargument might be that many sixteen-year-olds need jobs and without driver's licenses they would be forced to take the bus, which would in many cases endanger them. You would then refute this argument, using the same method as shown above.

Your Task: Write a counterargument paragraph for your argumentative draft / fall essay. Make sure to use specific evidence from the text to support the opposing reason and your argument against it.

Counterargument Paragraph

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