1. Objectives
By the end of today’s lesson you will be able to:
make a counter-argument to a view that has been expressed, addressing weaknesses in the argument and offering alternatives.

2. What’s your counter argument?
Schools would be better if we brought back the cane as pupils would be afraid to misbehave…
Counter-argument?
Task outline
This task requires pupils to write a letter to a magazine arguing against an earlier article which suggested teenagers should always listen to adult advice.
As preparation, pupils explore a number of arguments and counterarguments, paying particular attention to the language features involved in the statements. They read the original magazine article and then write a letter arguing against the views expressed in it and making some additional points of their own.
However, if schools used violence as a punishment, pupils may come to believe that violence is an acceptable way of behaving and therefore become more violent themselves

3. Argument Counter-argument
Schools would be better if we brought back the cane as pupils would be afraid to misbehave
Counter-argument
However, if schools used violence as a punishment, pupils may come to believe that violence is an acceptable way of behaving and therefore become more violent themselves
Mobile phones are a waste of money since landlines are much cheaper
Smoking should be banned in all public places because passive smoking damages other people
There should be a law to make people recycle bottles and cans in order to cut down on the waste we produce
People should be allowed to download as much music as they want from the internet because CDs are overpriced
Thieves should be given longer prison sentences because it would cut down on crime

4. What’s your counter argument?
Smoking should be banned in all public places because passive smoking damages other people…
There should be a law to make people recycle bottles and cans in order to cut down on the waste we produce…
Mobile phones are a waste of money since landlines are much cheaper…
Schools would be better if we brought back the cane as pupils would be afraid to misbehave…
Thieves should be given longer prison sentences because it would cut down on crime
Counter-argument:
Task outline
This task requires pupils to write a letter to a magazine arguing against an earlier article which suggested teenagers should always listen to adult advice.
As preparation, pupils explore a number of arguments and counterarguments, paying particular attention to the language features involved in the statements. They read the original magazine article and then write a letter arguing against the views expressed in it and making some additional points of their own.
However, if schools used violence as a punishment, pupils may come to believe that violence is an acceptable way of behaving and therefore become more violent themselves

5. “Teenagers should listen more!”
You will reply to this…

6. Teenagers should listen more!
HEY KIDS! ARE YOU LISTENING? Yes, folks, the bad news is that the adults in your life really do know best.
You have got to admit it – teenagers do some foolish things, as they do not sense danger; girls waste time in internet chat rooms, putting themselves in danger from strangers; boys commit criminal acts for a dare in front of CCTV cameras and end up with a record that gives them the worst possible start in life. Every year large numbers of teenagers lose their lives or are seriously injured through taking drugs or drinking large amounts of alcohol. Would any of this happen if the advice of parents were taken? After all, parents are more cautious and see danger everywhere.
Seriously, adults know a lot more than you think. Just because your mum can’t set the video or send a text message, doesn’t mean she is stupid. She was your age once and survived. What’s more, she can look back on her experience and see what she did right and where she went wrong. She doesn’t want you to make the same mistakes that she made and still regrets. You may say that the world has changed and your parents’ lives were not the same and so their fears are irrelevant or just plain old-fashioned, but the dangers don’t really change, so you can learn from their experiences!

7. One of the biggest dangers for young people has always been that they can be led into harm’s way by strangers with bad intentions. Teenagers are too trusting because they can’t imagine why anybody would want to hurt them, or see how someone who seems friendly and helpful might just be putting on an act in order to trick them. However, the adults who care for you know about these people and the way they think, which is why they constantly remind you of “stranger-danger”.
To take this argument further, some teenagers put more thought into choosing a pair of trainers than they do into selecting their option subjects at school. Making the right decisions when you are a teenager is the key to being happy in future life, but it’s hard to think straight when you are 14. Firstly, your whole body is being bombarded with a massive surge of hormones which make you more likely to take huge risks on the spur of the moment rather than reflect carefully. Secondly, you are programmed to listen first and foremost to your friends who are full of the same mad hormones as you. Also, let’s face it, as a teenager it’s hard to think ahead; adult life is, after all, just boring. On the other hand, the adults who care about you are worth hearing out. They can think calmly about these important decisions, with the benefit of experience, and definitely will want, and will know, what is best for you. Finally, it’s quite clear that mums and dads have also got far superior taste in clothes. Well, OK, I agree that’s going too far, but when it comes to the important things in life, admit it, you really should listen to your elders.

8. Teenagers should listen more!
Is the writer correct?
What viewpoint has the writer has taken?
Is it sustained throughout the article?
find evidence from the article to support your opinion.
Highlight the main argument in paragraph 1.
What evidence supports this argument?

9. Writer’s points
Evidence
Your argument
Your evidence
teenagers do some foolish things
girls in chat rooms
adults also do foolish things
they drink and drive, not expecting to be Caught
In pairs, think of counter arguments and evidence to support these and place them in columns 3 and 4.
Find the arguments in the other paragraphs and put these in column 1 of your table (page 3 of your booklets)
Find the evidence the writer uses to support these arguments and put these in column 2 of your table.

10. Using Connectives
Go back to the article and underline all of the connectives used;
What is the purpose of these connectives?
make writing fluent
create a variety of sentence structures
give structure to the writing.

11. Connectives to be used in argument writing
cause and effect
consequently
as a result
thus
therefore
because
contrasting
on the other hand
on the contrary
an opposite view
whereas
alternatively
in comparison
comparing
equally
in the same way
similarly
as with
emphasising
above all
in particular
significantly
especially