How to Write a Counter-Argument

Clearly and fairly summarize opposing arguments.

• Here is a good test: imagine whether the writer of the opposing argument would agree that your summary is fair. If not, your counterargument will be dismissed as straw-manning. How many (quantity) and how good (quality) are the connections between opposing claims and support?

• Concede, if appropriate, any features of the opposing argument that are well-supported. Is any part of their claim or support acceptable? If so, what? Some ways to get started on concessions can be found in this handout from Pitzer College, which is based on a popular book titled They Say/I Say.

Clearly and fairly examine the connections between opposing claims and the evidence offered to support them, then state clearly and fairly why, on balance, your argument is better supported.

• An argument can be better supported on balance without all other arguments being totally off-base.

• It’s not always a zero-sum game, despite what our infantile media-fueled culture of people shouting past one another might suggest.

• In fact, the more interesting and important the issue, the more likely it is that well-supported arguments are being made that disagree with one another.

• Your goal in classes such as this one is to show why your argument is better supported rather than why the opposing arguments are terrible and written by bad people who should hide their faces in shame.

• For more on counterarguments, see the “turn against” and “turn back” moves in this handout from Brandeis University, which offers a different way of understanding what’s explained above.