How to Write a Counterargument
And be better at argumentative writing
Writing A Counterargument
• The counterargument is an indispensable part of a great persuasive or
argumentative paper.
• It shows your reader that
– You have thought about their concerns and feelings
– You are well educated on the subject
– You have considered the subject from many angles, not only your own
point of view
Writing A Counterargument
• Counterarguments have two parts:
– COUNTERARGUMENT: The counterargument is any possible
disagreement your audience might pose against your claim/thesis or
some aspect of your reasoning.
– REFUTATION: In the refutation, you explain why the audience’s reasons
for disagreeing are incorrect or irrelevant.
Writing A Counterargument
• Counterarguments have two parts:
– COUNTERARGUMENT: The counterargument is any possible
disagreement your audience might pose against your claim/thesis or
some aspect of your reasoning.
– REFUTATION: In the refutation, you explain why the audience’s reasons
for disagreeing are incorrect or irrelevant.
• My thesis: Students should do community service instead of ISS when they
receive consequences at school.
Writing A Counterargument
• Counterarguments have two parts:
– COUNTERARGUMENT: The counterargument is any possible
disagreement your audience might pose against your claim/thesis or
some aspect of your reasoning.
– REFUTATION: In the refutation, you explain why the audience’s reasons
for disagreeing are incorrect or irrelevant.
• My thesis: Students should do community service instead of ISS when they
receive consequences at school.
• COUNTERARGUMENT: Students who cause trouble at school are not the
ones we want serving the community with volunteer work. They don’t care
about others and will only cause more trouble.
Writing A Counterargument
• Counterarguments have two parts:
– COUNTERARGUMENT: The counterargument is any possible
disagreement your audience might pose against your claim/thesis or
some aspect of your reasoning.
– REFUTATION: In the refutation, you explain why the audience’s reasons
for disagreeing are incorrect or irrelevant.
• My thesis: Students should do community service instead of ISS when they
receive consequences at school.
• COUNTERARGUMENT: Students who cause trouble at school are not the
ones we want serving the community with volunteer work. They don’t care
about others and will only cause more trouble.
• REFUTATION: But those students are the ones that need positive
interactions with others the most, and this is an opportunity for them to
learn empathy for others.
Thesis/Argument
Counterargument
Refutation
Your topic and your position
on it.
What you imagine a member of the
audience would say against
your thesis.
Your explanation of why their
reasons against your thesis are
wrong or irrelevant.
Practice With Counterarguments
• What is a good counterargument and refutation for each of the following
thesis statements?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Public schools should abandon school uniforms.
The legal smoking age should be raised to 21.
The legal drinking age should be lowered to 18.
Parents who send their children to private school should not pay taxes to
support public schools.
Random locker searches at public schools should be outlawed.
Marijuana should be legal to possess and use for adults over the age of 18.
Music and performances that feature religious ideas should be eliminated
from public school band and chorus performances.