Master the Counterargument in English Writing

Let’s take a look at the use of the counterargument in English writing. 

A counterargument is one of the elements of classic essay structure, along with an introduction, context or background, claim or stance, proofs of support and a conclusion. 

That said, the ability to recognize and build a counterargument – sometimes called refutation or negative proofs of support – can be useful to strengthen a point in any kind of written or spoken communication.

When you’re trying to argue a point, you want to make sure you clearly state your thesis and back up your argument with examples and evidence. A counterargument is another tactic you can use to make your point. 

In this guide, we’ll cover

• The English counterargument, defined

• The role of a counterargument in an essay

• Simple and advanced counterargument examples

• How to write a counterargument yourself

• Counterargument prompts to help you put your new knowledge to work
  

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Counterargument in English writing

For the purposes of this guide, we’re focusing on written English counterarguments, but many of the principles covered here can also be applied to persuasive speech and debate.

English counterargument, defined

A counterargument is, in short, an opposing argument. 

It can be a single statement that opposes another statement, or a longer portion of a written piece used to present opposing viewpoints and address them. 

It's used in debates, essays and discussions to present an opposing viewpoint.

When you present a counterargument in an essay, it’s usually to debunk views or claims contrary to the claim you’re trying to support. 

Why counterargument in an essay is important

To address this, let’s look at an example of a counterargument. Let’s say that the primary claim of this article is that a good counterargument is important.

What would the counterargument look like? Perhaps something like this:

Some students worry that bringing up a possible counterargument will weaken the case they’re trying to make in their essay.

However, as someone who writes articles for a living, I can tell you: A strong counterargument can be used to dispel doubts and address possible holes in your argument head on. It shows that you’ve thought through all possible angles of an issue, and writing it can help you identify possible problems in your writing. 

What’s more, one expert analysis showed that a detailed counter-message was more effective for debunking misinformation than simply telling someone they were looking at misinformation – meaning that proving something wrong may be more effective than not addressing it or simply saying it’s incorrect. 

In short, without a strong counterargument, your reader may not be convinced, so you should make sure you work on your counterargument skills as soon as possible.

(Starting to get the idea? Don’t worry, we’ll explain further!)

Counterargument starter examples

While the example above is a longer, complete counterargument, every counterargument boils down to a statement that opposes a previous statement or claim.

Here are a few simple examples of claims with statements that refute them.

Claim: Orange cats are the best cats.

Counterargument: Some might say that the quality of cats is subjective.

Claim: New York City is an exceptionally large city.

Counterargument: While New York City is a big city, it’s also true that it’s small relative to Tokyo or Mexico City.

Claim: All astronauts need more training.

Counterargument: It could be argued that on-the-job experience will be more helpful to astronauts than additional training.

Claim: Venom 3 should be considered a success because it was a box office hit.

Counterargument: Critics might say that box office success isn’t as important as a film’s cultural impact.

Claim: The Toronto Raptors are the most lovable basketball team.

Counterargument: Opponents believe each market will prefer their local basketball team.

Opposing statements like the ones labeled counterarguments above are the first step in forming a complete counterargument.

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How to write a counterargument

A complete counterargument involves

• An acknowledgement of a possible criticism or opposing perspective

• Statements and evidence to refute that opposing viewpoint

• A persuasive conclusion

For short, to help you remember, that’s A.R.C. – acknowledge, refute, conclude. 

You can put your counterargument before your thesis, after your introduction, before your conclusion or anywhere that feels natural in your essay writing.

Let’s break it down step by step.

Acknowledge

To start with, you need a solid opposing statement. It’s worth really taking your time to research or consider other opinions, perspectives and even evidence that might seem counter to your claim. You want to make sure you’re pushing back on the strongest or most widely held position against your claim. 

Once you’ve done that and are ready to write, you’ll want to start with presenting and acknowledging that counterclaim. To introduce it, you can use phrases like

• Some might say

• Some will say 

• Critics argue

• Opponents believe

• It's true that

• There is a theory

Refute

Once you’ve acknowledged the possible counterargument or opposing perspective, you can begin to refute it. 

Some common tactics to push back on a possible counterargument include

1. Establishing authority on the subject

2. Persuading with data and logic

3. Appealing to emotion, passions or academic disposition

4. Creating a sense of urgency

While emotion and urgency can help to persuade the reader, in an academic setting, hard evidence supporting your claim (over the counterargument) is often preferred.

You can present your rebuttal with words like

• However

• But

• Though

• While

• Notwithstanding

• Nevertheless

• Still

Conclude

The conclusion of your counterargument can look a few different ways. 

You may want to make concessions – this is a common tactic where you admit that aspects of an opposing view are true, but reassert that your conclusion or claim is nonetheless the correct one.

You may want to sum up the weaknesses of the opposing view, or you may wish to make an appeal that is more emotional yet still grounded in logic – emphasizing either the urgency or importance of your point, or suggesting possible consequences should the reader take the opposing viewpoint.

With all that in mind, let’s look again at that first complete example of a counterargument.

Introducing the counterargument:

Some students worry that bringing up a possible counterargument will weaken the case they’re trying to make in their essay.

Introducing the rebuttal:

However, 

Establishing authority:

as someone who writes articles for a living, I can tell you: A strong counterargument can be used to dispel doubts and address possible holes in your argument head on. 

Appealing to logic:

It shows that you’ve thought through all possible angles of an issue, and writing it can help you identify possible problems in your writing. 

Supporting with data:

What’s more, one expert analysis showed that a detailed counter-message was more effective for debunking misinformation than simply telling someone they were looking at misinformation – meaning that proving something wrong may be more effective than not addressing it or simply saying it’s incorrect. 

Conclusion appealing to emotion: 

In short, without a strong counterargument, your reader may not be convinced, 

And invoking time:

so you should make sure you work on your counterargument skills as soon as possible.

Exercises & prompts

To start, practice writing single sentences introducing possible counterarguments for the following statements:

High school students should only be required to read non-fiction books.

Dogs make better pets than cats because of their friendly nature.

Learning to speak a second language fluently should be a requirement for all college students.

American artists should consider moving to Canada.

Next, choose one of your opposing statements for the above sentences and use it to write a full counterargument using data, logic and at least one more form of persuasion of your choosing.

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