Essay on "Rebuttal Argument"

Quoted Instructions for "Rebuttal Argument" Assignment:

REBUTTAL ARGUMENT (900 - 1,000 words)

What is an argument? An argument is a set of statements that seek to convince an audience to accept a specific position (or take a specific action) in reference to a controversial subject. In this essay you will take on an opponent*****'s argument , refute it, and counterargue with a position of your own. Note that your textbook discusses (chapter 12) two types of rebuttal: refutation and counterargument. For this class, your rebuttal argument will include both refutation and counterargument. The essay will be 900 - 1,000 words, typed, and doubled-spaced.

STEP ONE: Choose an argument to contest. Listen to a speech made by a professor, an author, or a politician on YouTube EDU. Read the editorial of the Maryland Independent or the Washington Post. Read a white page by an organization such as The Brookings Institution or the Heritage Foundation. Study an essay from a magazine such as The New Republic, The Nation, The Atlantic, or Wired. Find an axe to grind and go to it.

STEP TWO :

Examine the Facts on Which the Claim is Based

** Are the facts accurate ? ** Are the facts current? If the author quotes from sources, how reliable are those sources? ** Is there another body of facts that you can present as counterevidence? ** Are the facts legitimate but the conclusions drawn from them weak?

STEP THREE: Audience

** Think of your audience as those who are on the fence: they can be swayed either way. It will be your job to refute the claims of the opponent and get your audience to agree that those claims are lacking.

Other Side Taking into account an opposing viewpoint will strengthen your own. You will take the time to point out errors in the opposing position, but your tone will be reasonable. You should not claim the other side is *****"stupid*****" or *****"full of rabid rightwingers*****" or *****"unrealistic, bleeding-heart liberals.*****" Your essay will show that you have seriously considered the opposing side*****'s claims. Sometimes you may even concede what you can accept in opposing views, but often you will refute what you cannot accept. When you counterargue opposing views, it is important you represent those views accurately. Therefore, you must quote from the other side. Do not merely guess what those on the opposing side might say. Of course you must present reasons and support for your counterargument in order for your readers to take the counterargument seriously. The goal is to make your own argument more compelling by contrasting it with another argument. Of course you should not overuse *****"I *****" statements (*****"I think*****" *****"I believe*****" *****"I argue*****") so you can write such leaders as *****"X is wrong when he claims A because*****" or *****"The evidence shows that ....or *****"X *****'s assertion that...... does not fit the facts.*****"

Introduction

For the introductory paragraph, you must refer to the argument you are refuting. Remember, you are disagreeing with a specific lecture, speech, or piece of writing. Name that work in your first two sentences. Then tell us why this is a worthy opponent AND why this piece demands our attention. This will be the part where you help establish the exigence of your essay. Be sure that you have a worthy opponent; in other words, be sure that your opponent has some credibility and that his argument is one that has exigence. If the opponent is just some random dude who put up a web site, forget it. Or, for example, if his argument is that we should conduct a full-scale military invasion of Mexico to solve the War on Drugs, this is not a worthwhile claim to rebut. This is not a realistic claim. Finally, in the first paragraph, offer your thesis: EXAMPLE: Macgruber*****'s claim is flawed for these reasons: ............

BODY: Paragraph Two should start with an effective summary of your opponent*****'s argument. Represent his position accurately.

BODY: Refutation: Next, refute two or three of his main points.

BODY: Counterargument: Offer your own argument as a better alternative. Remember, this is competitive.

CONCLUSION:

Your conclusion is not simply a summary of your main points. Instead, choose one of the following strategies:*****¢m issue a warning of the future : what are the consequences if we accept the claims of your opponent? *****¢ reassure the reader about the safety of the future *****¢a quote an authority who agrees with your points *****¢m use a telling example to illustrate the implications of your argument

A FINAL WORD ABOUT SOURCES:

You must correctly cite from at least three sources. One source will of course be the main essay you are refuting. Using print sources will enhance your credibility. If you are interested in using a webpage, be sure to evaluate its credibility by seeing if it is allied with a university, a government agency, or a respected institution. Just because a webpage uses statistics does not make it a good choice for your research. Be sure that the research is somewhat current and that it avoids the logical fallacies.

Avoid using the Bible, or any other *****"spiritual book,*****" as a source. Why? Your audience for this essay is an academic one. The academic community, whether you like it or not, does not generally view the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, etc. as a reliable source. The authority we use must convince a particular audience. Effective authority is authority that is acceptable to that particular audience. The Koran carries no authority to a Catholic, the Pope carries no authority to a Baptist, and the first chapter of Genesis carries no authority to a geologist. Perhaps you can use the moral claims of a holy book the in your own words to appeal to the audience. You can argue retribution as a moral principle without quoting from the Bible *****"an eye for an eye.*****"

Points will be deducted for incorrect in-text citations. Use MLA format for the in-text citations and the Works Cited page.

Examples of in-text citations:

In *****"The IQ Cult,*****" journalist Brent Staples states that IQ tests give scientists little insight into intelligence (293).

In her article *****"Losing Patience With Fox,*****" Washington Post reporter Marcela Sanchez asserts that *****"International human rights groups are losing patience with Mexican President Vincente Fox*****" (C8).

At the Smith trial, for example, one group of reporters was covering the trial while another group was covering the other reporters (Thaler 44).