Argumentation

Argumentation

Introducing the Counter Argument and

Rebuttal
Argumentation is a reasoned, logical way of convincing an
audience of the soundness of a position, belief or
conclusion. It takes a stand supported by evidence and
urges people to share the writer’s perspective and insights.

Unlike an informal exchange of opinion, Formal arguments

are designed to ensure that ideas are presented fairly and
logically. Greeks formulated the first rules governing
argument thousands of years ago. They designed their
rules for speaking, but the techniques of arguments also
apply to writing.
 Argumentation vs Persuasion
• Persuasion and argumentations are two terms frequently
used interchangeably in everyday speech. They are quite
different.

• Persuasion is a general term used to describe a technique

a writer uses to move an audience to adopt a belief or to
Follow a course of action. To persuade an audience, a
writer relies on various appeals: to the emotions, to
reason, or to ethics.
 Argumentation vs Persuasion
• Argumentation is the appeal to reason. Here, a writer connects a
series of statements in an orderly way leading to a conclusion.

• Argument does not try to move an audience to action. It primarily

demonstrates to an audience that certain ideas are valid and that
others are not.

• Unlike persuasion, Argumentation has a formal structure to

support a conclusion. It makes points, supplies evidence,
establishes a logical chain of reasoning, refutes opposing
arguments, and accommodates the views of an audience.
 Purpose of Argumentation
• One purpose is to convince reasonable people to accept
your position;

• Another is simply to defend your position and to establish

its validity even if other people cannot be convinced to
agree.

• A third purpose of argumentation is to question or refute

some position. You believe to be misguided, untrue or evil
without necessarily offering an alternative of your own.
 What is an Argumentation?


The purpose of argumentation is to persuade (the
reader) to accept—or seriously consider--your
opinion on a controversial issue

Has three parts: Claim, Counter Claim, Rebuttal

(Plus Introduction and Conclusion)
 Choosing a Topic
• In argumentation, choosing the right topic is important. It will be one in
which you have an intellectual or emotional interest.

• You should be well aware and well informed about your topic. Select a
limited issue, narrowed enough to be treated effectively In space
available to you or confine your discussion in a particular respect of a
broad issue.

• Also consider your purpose: What you expect your argument to

accomplish and how You wish your audience to respond.

• If your topic is so far reaching that you cannot identify What you want to
convince a reader to think or so Idealistic that your expectations are
impossible or unreasonable; it will not be effective.
 Taking a Stand

• Take your stand to State the position, you will argue in

the form of a thesis.

• For example, Solar power is the best available solution

to the impending energy crisis.

• In your argument, you will have to support each of

these three assertions, logically and persuasively.
 Analyzing Audience
• Before writing an essay, you should analyze the
characteristics, values and interests of your
audience.
• Know the beliefs or opinions of the audience if
they are friendly neutral or hostile to your thesis.
• Begin with a purpose in mind, but must decide on
an audience.
 Gathering Evidence.
• All the points in your essay must be supported. If they
are not, your audience will dismiss them as irrelevant or
unclear. Sometimes you can support a statement with
appeals to emotions, But most of the time, you support
the points of your argument, by appealing to reason- by
providing evidence- material presented in support of
your claim.
 Gathering Evidence.
• Keep in mind that evidence in an argumentation, never
proves anything conclusively. If it did, there would be no
debate and hence, no point in arguing.

• The best then evidence can do is convince your audience

that an assertion is reasonable and worth believing.

• Evidence can consist of facts or opinion: Fact, a

statements that most people agree, are true and can be
verified independently.
 Gathering Evidence.
• Keep in mind that not all opinions are equal,

• Opinions may be based on personal experience, an

observation to support and argument. The opinions of
experts are more convincing than those with less
experience or knowledge of an issue.

• Personal opinion can be excellent evidence if

knowledgeable about the subject.

• But they seldom constitute enough evidence to support a

major assertion of your argument.
• In a nutshell, what is important is not just the
quality of the evidence but also the credibility
of the person or source offering an evidence.

• While selecting the material, remember three

things about your evidence:

– Your evidence should be relevant

– Your evidence should be representative

– Your evidence should be sufficient

Your evidence should be relevant

• Your evidence should support your thesis and should

contribute to the argument that you're making.

• As you present an evidence, concentrate so much on

a specific example that you lose sight of the point
you're supporting-leading to digression from your
point leaving the readers in confusion.
Your evidence should be representative

• Your evidence should represent the full range of opinions

about your subject, not just one side or the other.
Examples and evidences should be typical and not
aberrant.

• Look hard at the opposing or disagreeing opinions to

understand your opposition. It will enable you to refute it
effectively.
Your evidence should be sufficient
• Your evidence should be sufficient to support your
claims. The amount of your evidence that you need
depends on your audience and the thesis.

• Audience may need one or two examples to be

convinced while a skeptical audience would need
many more.

• A narrower thesis will be easy to support than an

expansive one.
 Consider your Audience

Whom are you trying to reach?

What do they already know about your topic?

What is your relationship with your audience and
how does it impact your word choice and tone?
 CLAIM

Your opinion or position on an issue

Must be supported with evidence

(quotes, facts, data)

Evidence must be explained

RACE paragraph = Claim
 COUNTER CLAIM

Consider the opposite side

Argues against your claim


Turn against your argument to challenge
it

Then turn back to reaffirm your position
 REBUTTAL

Turn back to your original position

Responds to and refutes issues presented
by the counterclaim
 The Opposing Side

Ask these questions:

1. Who might disagree with my position? Why?

2. What reasons do people have for disagreeing
with me?

3. What evidence would support an opposing
argument?
 Counter Claim

Key phrases to use:

One might object that...

It might seem that...

It's true that...

Admittedly...

Of course...
 REBUTTAL

Return to your original argument based upon
careful reasoning


Show why counter argument is mistaken


Acknowledge it, but show why it is less important
 REBUTTAL

Key Phrases to use:

but

yet

however

nonetheless

still
 EXAMPLE

CLAIM: “More Americans are choosing low-
carb diets because the media promotes low-
carb diets as the new way to a skinnier body.”


COUNTER CLAIM: “Some Americans don't
watch television commercials because they own
a DVR or Tivo, but most Americans are exposed
to other forms of advertisement in magazines,
newspapers, and highway billboards.
 Where to put it?

Introduction

Claim 1

Claim 2

Counter Claim

Rebuttal

Conclusion

Each of these will be one paragraph!
 Deductive vs Inductive
Argument
• An argument you move from evidence to conclusion, in two basic ways.
Deductive reasoning proceeds from general premise or assumption to a
specific conclusion. And it is what most people mean when they speak
of logic using strict logical form deduction holds that if all the
statements in the argument are true, the conclusion must also be true.

• Inductive reasoning proceeds from individual observations to a more

general conclusion and uses no strict form.

• Most written arguments use a combination of deductive and inductive

reasoning.
 Deductive Arguments
• The basic form of a deductive argument is a Syllogism.

• A syllogism consists of a major premise, which is a general statement,

A minor premise which is a related but more specific statement and a
conclusion which has to be drawn from those premises.

• For example,

• Major premise: All Olympic runners are fast.

• Minor premise. John is an Olympic level Runner

• Conclusion. Therefore, John is fast.

Inductive arguments
• Inductive arguments move from specific examples or
facts to a general conclusion. Unlike deducting
deduction induction has no distinctive form. And its
conclusions are less definitive than those of the
syllogisms whose forms are valid and whose premises
are clearly true.
• First, usually you decide on a question to be answered especially in scientific
work. A tentative answer to such a question called hypothesis, but then you
gather all the evidences, you can't find that a relevant to the question. And
that may be important to find finding the answers.

• Finally, you draw a conclusion often called as inference. That answers the
question.

• Example:
• Question. How did the living room window get broken?

• Evidence. There is a base poll on the living room floor. The baseball was not there. This
morning, Some children were playing baseball this afternoon. They were playing in the
vacant lot across from the window They stopped playing a little while ago. They are not
in the vacant lot now.
• Conclusion, One of the children hit or through the bowl through the window Then
they all ran away.
Example:

• In a well-known religious narrative, Prophet

Ibrahim (Abraham) famously debated with
King Nimrod (Namrood) about the nature of
God, with Ibrahim ultimately demonstrating
the futility of worshipping idols and
asserting the existence of a single, all-
powerful God.
 ‫َر ِّبَي اَّلِذى ُيْح ِى َوُيِميُت‬
‫ي‬ ‫ُأ‬ ‫َأ ا ُأ‬
‫َن ِى َو ُت‬
‫ِم‬ ‫ْح‬
‫ْل‬‫ا‬ ‫ا‬ ‫َفْأ‬ ‫ْش‬ ‫ْل‬‫ا‬ ‫َّش‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ى‬ ‫َف الَّل ْأ‬
‫ْغ‬
‫ِإَّن َه َي ِت ِب ْمِس ِمَن َم ِرِق ِت ِبَه ِمَن َم ِرِب‬
‫َوالَّلُه َال َيْهِدى اْلَقْوَم الَّظـِلِميَن‬
• The argument of Abraham with Nimrod: God Almighty said: {Have you not
considered the one who argued with Abraham about his Lord, that God had
given him the kingdom?

• When Abraham said, "My Lord is He who gives life and causes death." He
said, "I am"} I bring to life and I cause to die. Abraham said, "Then indeed,
Allah brings the sun from the east, so bring it from the west. Then the
disbeliever was confounded. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing of
people (Al-Baqarah: 285)
• The Setting: King Nimrod, a ruler known for his arrogance and
claim to divinity, challenged Ibrahim's belief in one God.
• Nimrod's Claim: Nimrod, who was a polytheist, asserted his own
power and kingship as proof of his divinity, stating that he could
bestow life and death.
• Ibrahim's Counter: Ibrahim, in response, used a series of
arguments to expose the weakness of Nimrod's claims and the
absurdity of idol worship.
• The Sun Argument: Ibrahim pointed to the sun, stating that it rises
in the east and sets in the west, implying that even the sun, which
Nimrod and his people worshipped, was subject to change and not
truly divine.
• The Moon and Stars Argument: Ibrahim further argued that the
moon and stars also rise and set, demonstrating that these celestial
bodies, which Nimrod and his people also worshipped, were not
eternal or self-sufficient.
• The Power of One God: Ibrahim ultimately emphasized the power
and omnipotence of the one true God, who is the creator and
sustainer of all things.

• The Outcome: Nimrod, unable to refute Ibrahim's arguments, was

ultimately defeated in the debate, and Ibrahim's message of
monotheism resonated with some of Nimrod's people.
 The Argument from Revelation: The Qur’an as Divine Speech

• The Qur’an itself is presented as a miracle and proof of God’s existence.

Its unmatched eloquence, depth of meaning, and transformative power
are seen as signs of its divine origin:

• “And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our
Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call
upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful.” (Qur’an
2:23)

• The challenge to produce a text equal to the Qur’an remains unmet,

reinforcing the claim that it is the speech of God.
 Be Cautious!

It is true that counter arguments enrich
argumentative writing

However, adding a weak counterargument
or overdoing it cause worse results
 Practice:


Provide a Claim and Counter Argument for
the following topics:

1. To Die or Suffer: The Necessity of
Physician-assisted Suicide

2. Are Herbal medicines beneficial to our
health?
Ban on cell phone usage in
Schools and colleges.
One man’s freedom fight is
another man’s terrorism.
End
 References
• [Link]
god-in-the-quran-a-philosophical-and-spiritual-perspective/
• Kirszner, L. G., & Mandell, S. R. (2016). Patterns for college writing: a
rhetorical reader and guide.
• Musolin, Mukhamad & Serour, Reda Owis & Ismail, Mohamad.
(2024). The Concept of Argumentation in the Holy Quran: A Study of
its Concept, Types and Ruling. International Journal of Academic
Research in Business and Social Sciences. 14. 10.6007/IJARBSS/v14-
i11/23854.