Key Terms for Argument
Claim – Your basic belief about a particular topic, issue, event, or idea. (This is another name for thesis)
ex. Civil disobedience is not a moral choice to fight against an unjust law. Civil disobedience is a moral choice to fight against an unjust law.
Reasons – these one-sentence-statements clearly answer the question WHY you believe your claim to be true.
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If your claim is that Civil disobedience is not a moral choice to fight against an unjust law.
o Reason: People will never agree on which laws are just and which are unjust.
o
Reason: Most of the laws/policies that people protest are highly complex issues.
o
Reason: Breaking laws may eventually lead to anarchy.
Evidence – Facts, judgment and testimonials used to support why your claim is true.
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This includes, but is not limited to:
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Facts
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Statistics, surveys, research studies, historical events, definitions, etc.
Judgment
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These are logical assumptions that the writer makes about his/her subject after carefully
considering the facts.
Testimonials (1) an eye witness (2) a qualified expert
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The eyewitness can supply important facts for the writer to use, and the expert can provide
valuable judgments in order to give strength to the argument.
Counterclaim – A solid and reasonable argument that opposes or disagrees with your claim.
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Common transitions for introducing a counterclaim:
o Some people may say…
Claim: Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time
o
o
There are those who argue…
It is true that…
Reason: He won 6 NBA Championships
o
It might seem that...
o
It is a fact that…
Counterclaim: That is a weak argument because Bill Russell won 11 championships in
the 1960’s. Using that logic, Russell is the best player of all time.
o
Admittedly...
Counterclaim to the counterclaim: That is true, however there were only 10 teams back
then (as opposed to 30 today) and the talent wasn’t nearly what it is in the modern age.
Rebuttal – A written or verbal response to a counterclaim. The object of the rebuttal is to take into account the ideas
presented in the counterclaim and explain why they aren’t persuasive enough, valid enough, or important enough to
outweigh your own claim.
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Common transitions for starting your rebuttal:
o However, they are wrong.
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There is a fallacy in this logic.
o
On the surface it may seem that this is true, but…
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Still…
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Their argument is only partially true…
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This still doesn’t answer the question…
I partly agree, but it still doesn’t address the important issue of…
Refute – a synonym for rebut.
Qualify – A “partly-agree” stance in which you agree (in part) with another person’s argument or position but also
disagree with part of it.