CCR English 10, Mr. Braam

CCR English 10, Mr. Braam

Name______________________________________________________ Bell: _________

Should College Freshmen Choose Their Own Roommates?Review attached material on counterclaims. Read and annotate each argument. Look for and label the rhetorical devices we have been studying .

1. What is the claim of the YES side?

2. What is the claim of the NO side?

3. Define counterclaim (as within an argument, not as a point of law). Who addresses the counterclaim, you or your opponent? What is the point of a counterclaim? Use the attached review sheets on counterclaims and/or other sources for your answer.

4. What is the opposing argument or counterclaim within the YES argument?

5. How does author Justin Gaither attack/refute this opposing argument?

6. What is the opposing argument or counterclaim within the NO argument?

CCR English 10, Mr. Braam

7. How does author Dalton Conley attack/refute this opposing argument?

8. What is the logical appeal that the YES article includes?

9. What is the logical appeal that the NO article includes?

10. Which side uses an emotional appeal ? Write down the emotional appeal and explain what makes it an emotional appeal.

11. Which author might identify more with today's college freshman? Explain?

12. What is something else that both articles include in their argument? Explain .

13. Copy down a sentence that includes parallel structure. Underline the parts of the sentence that are parallel.

14. Copy down a sentence from one of the two texts that uses a semi-colon. Does the writer use it correctly? Explain why or why not.

CCR English 10, Mr. Braam

Review: What is a Counterclaim?

When you are in an argument, it makes sense to address the opposite side of what you are arguing and point out why that view is wrong. This is a called counterclaim, because you are “countering” (refuting) the other side’s claim/argument.

Example of a claim, then a counterclaim

1. Your Initial Claim: Although they are traditionally seen as a distraction, students should be able to bring cell phones to school because digital literacy can be used for educational purposes.

2. Counterclaim: Now some people may say that students should not be able to bring cell phones to school because they could use them to communicate during a test.

3. Provide evidence against counterclaim (rebut or refute the counterclaim): Although there are risks associated with allowing students to have cell phones in schools, with proper regulations like collecting them on test days the benefits outweigh the risks.

Then provide more evidence for your initial claim: According to the article, “Using Mobile Phones to Improve Educational Outcomes: An Analysis of Evidence from Asia” by John-Harmen Valk, “social interaction is central to effective learning, as indicated by theories of new learning, mobile phones should also impact educational outcomes by facilitating communication” (Valk 3).

But why have a counterclaim at all? Doesn’t presenting points against your own argument help your opponent? Yes, it does ... but only to a point. However, a counterclaim takes the argument that your opponents might make next, and then rebuts that argument before they even get a chance to offer it. You are anticipating an argument and then beating your opponent to the punch, potentially rendering their arguments harmless!!!

CCR English 10, Mr. Braam

Here are some more thoughts on why we use counterclaims in our arguments, and how to develop them

Debates, discussion, and arguments are about presenting different opinions, and supporting them with evidence. You give your case, your opponent gives theirs, and then, depending on the scenario, perhaps a third and a fourth point of view is then offered.

Once these have been presented, the next step is trying to prove why the other points of view are inaccurate, and yours is more complete. By anticipating counterclaims to your own claims, you will be prepared for other people’s criticisms of your own ideas. And by doing this, you will consider the issue in more details and depth, and formulate a more sophisticated opinion. You may even change your ideas – being willing to do this proves that you are open-minded rather than dogmatic.

How should counterclaims be included in an essay?Presenting counterclaims in an essay is fairly straightforward. After you have discussed

the point being debated, and supported your points with evidence (referring to real-life situations and other evidence), your next paragraph should begin with a connecting sentence along the lines of: “The counterclaim to this is…” or “An alternative view to this may be…” or “Now some people may think/say that ... .” You can then go on to present the counterclaim to what you have just discussed, again, supporting it with evidence as to why the counterclaim is inaccurate or simply wrong!. Which should be more developed: my initial claim, or my counterclaim?

Your initial claim should be more extensive than your counterclaim, and you should try to make it clear in your essay (within the mini-conclusion to that section, and within the main conclusion) which is your point of view (ie the claim, rather than the counterclaim). In other words, you should go into more depth for your claim, and support it with at least a little more evidence. As always, read it back to yourself, or get someone else to read it, to make sure that your position is clear on an issue.

Sources (information combined and modified for

educational and stylistic reasons):

Haskins, Andrea, What is a Counterclaim?

pencilsandpancakes.com.Dunn, Michael. Counterclaims, perspectives, and

implications. theoryofknowledge.net.

CCR English 10, Mr. Braam

Some things to remember about making counterclaims:

Make the counterclaim real.You will not fool anyone by misrepresenting people who disagree with you;

in fact, you will only weaken your own position because you will appear to fear the truth. Bring up a counterclaim that represents a (seemingly) valid objection to your claim.

Never write a counterclaim you cannot rebut.Bringing up the opposing viewpoint and then failing to show why it is

wrong will cause your audience to doubt that your position is the only right one (which is the point of persuasion, after all).

Make it clear that you do not agree with the counterclaim.Do not allow your audience to think you are simply contradicting yourself.

How can you persuade someone to accept your claim if you sound like you do not completely accept it?

Do not repeat a reason you have already given to rebut the counterclaim.The rebuttal should focus specifically on the objection in the counterclaim.

If you merely repeat what you have already said, your audience will assume you cannot think of an effective response.

You are allowed to have more than one rebuttal.The more reasons you can give to show that the counterclaim is wrong, the

better.