Making a Counterclaim

In the past, I have discussed the struggle that students have with supporting evidence.  One tool in the toolbox that will help them to write stronger, more convincing essays is writing a counterclaim.

A counterclaim is a claim that rebuts a previous claim.  Some students shy away from making counterclaims because they fear that introducing another point of view will weaken their argument.  In fact, a strong counterclaim will do just the opposite.  When the author gives the reader several strong arguments as to why his or her thesis is correct, they are providing good evidence.  If they can imagine how someone might try to prove their thesis wrong, recognize that argument, and give evidence that their argument is stronger, they are providing great evidence.

If you are trying to come up with a strong counterclaim, take a good look at your thesis statement.  Pretend that you were going to write an essay using the exact opposite thesis statement.  What would be your strongest argument?  Now use that as the basis of your counterargument.  Think about how you can convince your reader that, not only is your argument great, but the opposite argument is weak.

For example, I might be told to write an essay discussing whether or not Romeo and Juliet were truly in love in Romeo and Juliet.  If my argument is that they were not in love, but merely lust, that is my thesis statement.  For my counterargument, I have to consider that some people will say that Romeo and Juliet were in love.  How can I prove that this is wrong?  I might use Romeo's feelings for Rosaline to show that, for Romeo, love was a fleeting emotion and that, given more time, he likely would have fallen out of "love" with Juliet as well.

Some sentence starters to help students to integrate counterclaims into their work are:

• Some might argue...
• While it might be true that _________________, it is important to recognize that ...
• While others might say that _____________, a stronger argument is that...
• It is commonly believed that _____________, but...
• ____________ may be true, but...
• It is easy to understand why one might think ______________, but the facts suggest...
• Some critics/researchers have said _______________, however...
• It is often thought that _________________, but the truth is...

Food for Thought... what are some of the strong counterclaims that you have seen students make?  How did you help them to write that counterclaim?