1. Logical Writing Final Essay
Assessment
Essay Structure
Counter Arguments
Peer Review and counter arguments

2. WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY?
present an opinion on a controversial topic to the reader;
explain, clarify and illustrate that opinion;
persuade the reader that the opinion supported in the essay is valid by:
a. moving the reader to action,
b. convincing the reader that the opinion is correct, or
c. persuading the reader that the opinion is at least worth considering;
support the opinion by means of giving evidence: facts, examples, physical description, support of authority, and statistics;
present counterarguments to the thesis and refute them respectfully and critically.

3. How to Begin?
Step 1: “Brainstorm” Identify the kind of paper you are going to write
Example: an analysis
Step 2: Identify and narrow the topic.
Example: In this an analysis, what are you analyzing?
The effectiveness of freshman writing courses in preparing students for higher-level college writing
Step 3: Write a skeleton outline. Statement of intent.
Step 4: Do research, what did you discover, learn, see, etc?
What did your analysis reveal?
Students are unable to conduct library research.
Students do not know how to integrate sources into their papers.
Students do not know how to use proper documentation to cite sources.
Step 5: Revisit outline; change and fill in the support
Step 6: Write Intro …

4. Let’s Put Our Statement Together
Approval …
Let’s Put Our Statement Together
An analysis of the effectiveness of freshman writing courses in preparing students for higher-level college writing (looking at the) (reveals the) following: students are unable to conduct library research, integrate sources into their papers, and use the proper documentation to cite sources.
B1 –
B2 –
B3 –
etc
An outline of your points. Remember 5 paragraphs are the minimum.

5. ORGANIZING IDEAS INTO AN OUTLINE (There are other ways too …)
A note about structuring …
There are no right and wrong structures, just logical and illogical. You may be taught and you may see different structures – they are all acceptable. Stay uniform and focused.

6. Block or Point methods
Block Pattern I.   Introduction Explanation of the issue  Thesis statement  II.   Body  Block 1 A.   Summary of other side’s arguments  B.   Rebuttal to the first argument  C.   Rebuttal to the second argument  D.   Rebuttal to the third argument Block 2 E.   Your first argument  F.   Your second argument G.   Your third argument  III.   Conclusion – may include a summary of your point of view Point-by-Point Pattern I.   Introduction  Explanation of the issue, including a summary of the other side’s arguments  Thesis statement  II.   Body A.   Statement of the other side’s first argument and rebuttal with your own counterargument  B.   Statement of the other side’s second argument and rebuttal with your own counterargument C.   Statement of the other side’s third argument and rebuttal with your own counterargument  III.   Conclusion – may include a summary of your point of view

7. Counter Arguments
One way to strengthen your argument is to show that you have a deep understanding of the issue and also to show that you can anticipate and address the counterarguments or objections that your audience may have. In this way you show that you have thought the issue in detail.

8. Generating Counter Arguments
How strong is the opposition?
What arguments might be used against my thesis statement?
How can I refute these arguments?
Will I have to agree with some of these points?
Which of my arguments might the opposition try to discredit?
How closely does my audience identify with the opposition?
Can I see any weak links in the opposition’s thinking?

9. Counter Arguments
Sometimes it may be difficult to anticipate the counterarguments. Here are some strategies that you can make use of if you are having difficulty at this stage:
Do some research. It may seem to you that no one could possibly disagree with your position, but you will be astonished to find that someone most probably already has.
Talk with a friend or your instructor. Someone else may point out certain counterarguments that may never have occurred to you.
Consider the thesis and your supporting arguments and think of how people may object to each of them.

10. Refuting the Counter Arguments
Refuting Counter Arguments by Claiming that they are:
1. Incorrect: demonstrating that your opponent’s reasoning is wrong because it is based on incorrect or misleading information
2. Irrelevant: showing that your opponent’s viewpoint is inappropriate and unrelated because it is not relevant to the key point
3. Insufficient: showing that your opponent’s reasoning is weak because it is based on insufficient information or ignores significant information. Partially agree with the opponent’s point of view but on the whole prove that it is weak

11. All of these examples use a claim from James Loewen’s book, Lies My Teacher Told Me. In that book Loewen makes the claim that “To function adequately in civic life … students must learn what causes racism” (143). The examples below are ideas that you might use as a counter-argument to this claim, in a paper agreeing with Loewen. Then you would rebut, or answer, the counter-argument as a way to strengthen your own position.
Faulty Factual Assumption
Racism is a thing of the past; therefore, students don’t need to bother with it.
The factual assumption in this example is that racism is a thing of the past. One response would be to muster facts to show that racism continues to be a problem. (There’s a second assumption, which is that students don’t need to bother with what’s in the past. Another response would be to show that students must understand the past as well as the present “to function adequately in civic life.”)
Top
Faulty Analytical Assumption
Learning about racism might make students more racist.
The analytical assumption is that learning about racism can make you racist. The response would be that understanding the causes of a problem is not the same as causing or creating the problem. (Another assumption in this argument is that it’s not good to make students racist. Loewen’s argument shares this assumption, so you wouldn’t rebut it.)
Faulty Values
Who cares if students are racist?
This counter-argument is based on an assumed value that your readers probably do not share—namely, the idea that it’s ok for students to be racist. The response would be to point out this value, state why you don’t share it and state why you don’t think your readers do either. Of course, values are both deeply personal and extremely varied, so you’re always going to have some readers who do not share yours. The key is to base your arguments on values that most readers are likely to share.
True but Irrelevant
Students are already familiar with racism; they don’t need to study it in school.
Many students are, in fact, already familiar with racism. But Loewen is not saying they need to learn about racism, he’s saying they need to learn what causes it. You might be very familiar with racism but still not know what causes it. This is a very common form of counter-argument, one that actually rebuts a different argument. (Note that here, too, there’s a faulty assumption: being familiar with something is not the same as knowing what causes it.)
Makes the Argument Stronger
Previous generations didn’t study the causes of racism, so why should we start now?
The response here would be to show that previous generations did not “function adequately in civic life,” because they had a lot of problems with racism (segregation and more hidden forms of discrimination). Therefore, the fact that they didn’t learn about the causes of racism, together with this other information, actually supports the claim that students do need to learn what causes racism. (Here again there’s a faulty assumption, implied but not stated: Previous generations supposedly did function adequately in civic life. The response shows that that assumption is incorrect.)

12. Important Reminder!
As you have seen above, the writers of argumentative essays need to generate many supporting and opposing ideas to construct their argument and this much of information might cause some organizational problems. Here are the most common mistakes:

13. Common Errors
1. The refutation does not refute the counter argument. In other words, the refutation is irrelevant to the counter argument.
Thesis statement: The medium of university education should be Turkish.
I. CON: Supporters of English as the medium of university education believe that English is the language in which most academic studies are published. Therefore, they maintain, our education should be in English so as to be able to better understand and respond to these studies.
REF: But learning English is very difficult and not everyone can master it.

14. Common Errors
2. In the counter argument refutation paragraph, one of the pro arguments, which is dealt with in another paragraph as well, is repeated as the refutation of the counter argument. In other words, the ideas are repetitious.
Thesis statement: The medium of university education should be Turkish.
I. PRO: It will make Turkish more prestigious if we use it in the academic and scientific context.
II. The students will be more successful.
III. CON: Supporters of English medium universities believe that English is the language of the academic publication, so having education in English will contribute to the students’ future accomplishments.
REF: By doing so we miss the opportunity to make Turkish accepted in the academic circles; Turkish needs to be used in academic and scientific context so as to gain more prestige and be a world language.

15. Common Errors
3. The counter argument presented is not contradictory to the thesis statement. In other words, the counter argument does not present a direct opposition to the stance of the thesis statement.
Thesis statement: The medium of university education should be Turkish.
I. CON: Opponents of this idea believe that English is a world language and everybody should learn it.

16. Final Tips for Writing an Argumentative Essay
Find a debatable topic.
Word your thesis carefully to provoke thought or action.
Do research.
Make a pro-con chart.
Outline your arguments so that they are focused and organized.
Anticipate objections and differing viewpoints and show why your argument is stronger even if the others have some merit.
Support all your claims with convincing evidence and reasoned analysis.
Avoid logical fallacies; they weaken any argument.

17. Spoken English
Academic English
In my opinion
The opinion can be put forward (forth) …
I think / feel / believe
The notion can be put forward that
It can be asserted that
From examining the findings
In light of the evidence
From previous research
Considering / According to / As shown (in / by) / Given that
I’m convinced
Considering the evidence
Convincing research suggests
The literature strongly suggests
It is my belief I’d argue that
Some theorists argue that
It can be argued that
I’d dispute that
Although … actually
I agree
I disagree
It is evident
It is doubtful
It could be argued that
It has been suggested that
It can be seen that
It appears that
It was found that
It is generally agreed that
It could be concluded that
It seems that
It tends to be
It is widely accepted that
It is doubtful that
It is evident from the data that
Argumentative Language.
Use the 3rd person or 'It' constructions.
Use a couple of these “It” constructs to put forward an argument.