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English 101

Argument/Persuasive Element

Concession/Rebuttal Paragraph

A concession/rebuttal (counterargument) paragraph needs to be composed of a concession point that looks at an opposing viewpoint and your rebuttal of that point. It is important to maintain a professional and empathetic voice throughout this section. Remember it will be the strength of ideas that will sway your audience, not the snippiness in your voice. Here are some things to remember when creating and completing this element of your research essay.

1. Transitions – Remember that you are changing tasks when you begin to look at an opposing viewpoint. The previous section was filled with support points that clarified your stance. You need to alert your audience to the change of purpose as you enter your concession. A proper transition should only be a sentence or two, but it will clearly signal to your audience that you are doing something different. Keep in mind that you are not only transitioning out of support and into the concession, but also out of the rebuttal and into another support paragraph or conclusion.

2. Concession – For a strong concession/rebuttal section, it is important that you identify an opposition view point that you can empathize with or at least find validity in. This is important because a strong concession will spend time clarifying, in an even handed manner, what this point is and why it is compelling. Keep in mind that a good concession point convinces your audience that you have looked at all perspectives on the issue, and that you have done so with care and diligence. This strengthens your position in the audiences’ mind and makes them more likely to agree with you in the end. It is important to avoid a list of concession points and focus in on one specific point the opposition may have to your argument.

3. Rebuttal – This section should take your opposition to task. Analyze why this opposition point is weak and is ultimately not strong enough to sway your opinion. Try to be specific in this section and not fall into expressing grand generalities. In the same way that your concession point is narrow and specific, you want to be sure that your refutation is aimed at picking apart this specific point. Be careful of the rebuttal sounding too much like a conclusion or recap of your major support points. Continue to be mindful of your tone and don’t go overboard cutting the opposition down, but you do want to be on the offensive.

Example Concession/Rebuttal Paragraph:

Though the problems with doctor-assisted suicide are many, there are proponents of legalization of assisted suicide. Those in favor of legalizing doctor assisted suicide will point to medical cases where a patient has been deemed terminally ill, and argue that these patients should have the ability to end their suffering on their terms. It is true that many patients who are terminally ill suffer for lengths of time while their body holds onto life. It can be very painful for loved ones to have to watch their parent, partner, or child go through this. The process of death can be very ugly and bring people to question what is right and wrong in terms ending a life with assistance from a doctor. While it is easy to find compassion in this perspective, it creates some major problems if doctor assisted suicide was legalized to end patient suffering. We would be changing the role doctor’s have been trained to play. Doctor’s take an oath to do all they are capable of to save a life. If assisted suicide was legalize doctors would be forced to end life. They would be put in the position of having to decide who can die. Not only does this compromise the morality of a doctor, but it opens the door to many legal issues hospitals would have to face. Families and loved ones of a patient whose life was terminated may take legal action if they were not behind the decision. Hospitals and doctors sole focus should be on maintaining health, not ending life.

When outlining a C/R paragraph, please consider the following format:

1. (CP) – Here I will present a full sentence that captures the Concession Point (opposition point of view).

· Jot in some info to show how I will explain/validate/develop this idea

(RP) – Here I will present a full sentence that captures my Rebuttal Point (refutation to the opposition).

· Jot in some info to show how I will explain/develop my rebuttal.