University:
Boston University
Course:
LAW AM 700 | Intro to American Law
Academic year:

2020
Views:

81

Pages:

13
Author:

StellarSymphony

Claim / Counterclaim What is a Claim? ● ● ● A claim is your argument or reason proving your thesis. A claim is a statement of something as a fact. It is supported with EVIDENCE (concrete details) and EXPLANATIONS (commentary). What is a Counterclaim? ● Brainstorm at your tables… ○ ○ What is a counterclaim? Why do we need counterclaims? What is a Counterclaim? ● ● A counterclaim is the opposite of your claim. Think of a debate...the opposing side is the counterclaim. Why do we need Counterclaims? ● ● ● ● Your audience (reader) might have an opinion on the subject that is different than yours. It acknowledges other points of view. It shows that you are knowledgeable about your topic. It gives you a chance to explain why your position is stronger than the others. Let’s try a few... ● Claim: ○ ● Cell phones are great for students in middle school. Work with your table to make a counterclaim (make a claim from the opposing viewpoint). Let’s try a few... ● Claim: ○ ● Students should have access to social media during the school day. Work with your table to make a counterclaim (make a claim from the opposing viewpoint). Let’s try a few... ● Claim: ○ ● All students must play a sport before they graduate high school. Work with your table to make a counterclaim (make a claim from the opposing viewpoint). What is a Rebuttal? ● The rebuttal is the evidence you use to disprove the counterclaim. Example - Hunting season should be longer ● ● ● Reason #1 - Animal population is too high. Reason #2 - Some people hunt for food and need more time to get more food. Counterclaim - Many hunters only hunt for trophy and waste the meat. ○ Rebuttal - Research shows that 85% of hunters either keep the meat to eat or give it to someone else for food. These are made up facts for this presentation only. Sentence Stems to use to introduce the Counterclaim ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● A common argument against this position is… Some would argue… Although it is true that… Despite the opposition’s belief that… In spite of the opposition’s position that… It is often thought… It may be true that… Opponents would argue… Others would argue… Some might argue... Sentence Stems to use to Disprove the Counterclaim ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● These are used for your rebuttal! However, when you look at the evidence it becomes clear that… The evidence clearly indicates that… The evidence shows that… The evidence overwhelmingly supports… However… However, the evidence points to... Nevertheless… However, when one evaluates the evidence it becomes clear that... Putting it all together ● Claim - Cell phones are great for students in middle school. Using the sentence stems, let’s write a counterclaim and a rebuttal. ● Although it is middle school, while they are ○ After this students. true that cell phones are a distraction for students in the evidence clearly shows that cell phones help students in school. you will add your evidence to show HOW cell phones help