Counter argument essay outline

Counter argument essay outline

 · Counter argument outline Thesis statement: in the article, Should parents spy on their children's emails and texts? By Judith Woods. She mentioned many situations and experiences and I agreed on some points and disagree on many others as there were false assumptions, weak evidence and logical fallacies and that became a source of weakness in this article  · Counter Argument Essay: What is a Counterargument? With any argument or position, there are alternative or opposing positions. These opposing positions are called counterarguments. Think of it this way: if my argument is that dogs are better pets than cats because they are more social, but you argue that cats are better pets because they are more self-sufficient, your position is a counterargument In your paragraph: Identify the opposing argument. Respond to it by discussing the reasons the argument is incomplete, weak, unsound, or illogical. Provide examples or evidence to show why the opposing argument is unsound, or provide explanations

Argumentative Essays: The Counter-Argument & Refutation

When you write an academic essay, you make an counter argument essay outline you propose a thesis and offer some reasoning, using evidence, that suggests why the thesis is true. When you counter-argue, you consider a possible argument against your thesis or some aspect of your reasoning. This is a good way to test your ideas when drafting, while you still have time to revise them. And in the finished essay, it can be a persuasive and in both senses counter argument essay outline the word disarming tactic.

It allows you to anticipate doubts and pre-empt objections that counter argument essay outline skeptical reader might have; it presents you as the kind of person who weighs alternatives before arguing for one, who confronts difficulties instead of sweeping them under the rug, who is more interested in discovering the truth than winning a point. Not every objection is worth entertaining, of course, and you shouldn't include one just to include one.

But some imagining of other views, or of resistance to one's own, occurs in most good essays. And instructors are glad to encounter counterargument in student papers, even if they haven't specifically asked for it. The Turn Against. Counterargument in an essay has two stages: you turn against your argument to challenge it and then you turn back to re-affirm it. You first imagine a skeptical reader, or cite an actual source, who might resist your argument by pointing out. You introduce this turn against with a phrase like One might object here that or It might seem that or It's true that or Admittedly, or Of course, or with an anticipated challenging question: But how?

or But why? or But isn't this just? or But if this is so, what about? Then you state the case against yourself as briefly but as clearly and forcefully as you can, pointing to evidence where possible. An obviously feeble or perfunctory counterargument does more harm than good.

The Turn Back. Your return to your own argument—which you announce with a but, yet, however, nevertheless or still —must likewise involve careful reasoning, counter argument essay outline, not a flippant or nervous dismissal.

In reasoning about the proposed counterargument, you may. Where to Put a Counterargument, counter argument essay outline. Counterargument can appear anywhere in the essay, but it most commonly appears. But watch counter argument essay outline you don't overdo it.

A turn into counterargument here and there will sharpen and energize your essay, but too many such turns will have the reverse effect by obscuring your main idea or suggesting that you're ambivalent. Counterargument in Pre-Writing and Revising. Good thinking constantly questions itself, as Socrates observed long ago. But at some point in the process of composing an essay, you need to switch off the questioning in your head and make a case.

Having such an inner conversation during the drafting stage, however, can help you settle on a case worth making. As you consider possible theses and begin to counter argument essay outline on your draft, ask yourself how an intelligent person might plausibly disagree with you or see matters differently.

When you can imagine an intelligent disagreement, you have an arguable idea. And, of course, the disagreeing reader doesn't need to be in your head: if, as you're starting work on an essay, you ask a few people around you what they think of topic X or of your idea about X and keep alert for uncongenial remarks in class discussion and in assigned readings, you'll encounter a useful disagreement somewhere. Awareness of this disagreement, however you use it in your essay, will force you to sharpen your own thinking as you compose.

If you come to find the counterargument truer than your thesis, consider making it your thesis and turning your original thesis into a counterargument. If you manage to draft an essay without imagining a counterargument, make yourself imagine one before you revise and see if you can integrate it.

Gordon Harvey adapted from The Academic Essay: A Brief Anatomyfor the Writing Center at Harvard University, counter argument essay outline. Skip to main content. Main Menu Utility Menu Search. Harvard College Writing Program HARVARD. Home FAQ Writing Support Schedule an appointment English Grammar and Language Tutor Senior Thesis Tutors Departmental Writing Fellows Writing Resources Writing Resources Writing Advice: The Barker Underground Blog Meet the tutors.

The Turn Against Counterargument in an essay has two stages: you turn against your argument to challenge it and then you turn back to re-affirm it. You first imagine a skeptical reader, or cite an actual source, who might resist your argument by pointing out a problem with your demonstration, e, counter argument essay outline. The Turn Back Your return to your own argument—which you announce with a but, yet, however, nevertheless or still —must likewise involve careful reasoning, not a flippant or nervous dismissal.

In reasoning about the proposed counterargument, you may refute it, showing why it is mistaken—an apparent but not real problem; acknowledge its validity or plausibility, but suggest counter argument essay outline on balance counter argument essay outline relatively less important or less likely than what you propose, and thus doesn't overturn it; concede its force and complicate your idea accordingly—restate your thesis in a more exact, qualified, or nuanced way that takes account of the objection, or start a new section in which you consider your topic in light of it.

This will work if the counterargument concerns only an aspect of your argument; if it undermines your whole case, you need a new thesis.

Where to Put a Counterargument Counterargument can appear anywhere in the essay, but it most commonly appears as part of your introduction—before you propose your thesis—where the existence of a different view is the motive for your essay, counter argument essay outline, the reason it needs writing; as a section or paragraph just after your introduction, in which you lay out the expected reaction or standard position before turning away to develop your own; as a quick move within a paragraph, where you imagine a counterargument not to your main idea but to the sub-idea that the paragraph is arguing or is about to argue; as a section or paragraph just before the conclusion of your essay, in which you imagine what someone might object to what you have argued.

Counterargument in Pre-Writing and Revising Good thinking constantly questions itself, as Socrates observed long ago.

Writing Resources Strategies for Essay Writing How to Read an Assignment Moving from Assignment to Topic How to Do a Close Reading Overview of the Academic Essay Essay Structure Developing A Thesis Beginning the Academic Essay Outlining Counterargument Summary Topic Sentences and Signposting Transitioning: Beware of Velcro How to Write a Comparative Analysis Ending the Essay: Conclusions Revising the Draft Editing the Essay, Part One Editing the Essay, Part Two Tips on Grammar, counter argument essay outline, Punctuation and Style Brief Guides to Writing in the Disciplines.

Quick Links Schedule an Appointment Writing Resources Harvard Guide to Using Sources HarvardWrites Employment Follow HCWritingCenter. Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College Accessibility Digital Accessibility Report Copyright Infringement, counter argument essay outline.

How to Write a Good Argumentative Essay: Logical Structure

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Counter Argument Essay Examples, all you Need to Know : Current School News

In your paragraph: Identify the opposing argument. Respond to it by discussing the reasons the argument is incomplete, weak, unsound, or illogical. Provide examples or evidence to show why the opposing argument is unsound, or provide explanations Counterargument. When you write an academic essay, you make an argument: you propose a thesis and offer some reasoning, using evidence, that suggests why the thesis is true. When you counter-argue, you consider a possible argument against your thesis or some aspect of your reasoning. This is a good way to test your ideas when drafting, while you still have time to revise them  · Counter Argument Essay: What is a Counterargument? With any argument or position, there are alternative or opposing positions. These opposing positions are called counterarguments. Think of it this way: if my argument is that dogs are better pets than cats because they are more social, but you argue that cats are better pets because they are more self-sufficient, your position is a counterargument