A DA P T E D BY M R S S H O U L D E R S

THE WARRANT AND THE COUNTERCLAIM

A WARRANT

•Definition: A warrant is the logical connection between a claim and a supporting fact.• Sometime the warrant will be clear and no explanation from the writer is needed.•Most of the time the writer needs to explain how and why a particular piece of evidence is good support for a specific claim.

IDENTIFY THE WARRANT

• I think you need to join a yoga class. Yoga clears the mind and brings peace to the soul. As an airplane pilot, you need a clear mind and peaceful soul.• The most popular TV series on American

television is NFL football. 76% of Clarksvillians watch the program. The viewing public of Clarksville is a cross section of viewers much like those in the rest of the United States. So the NFL’s popularity there indicates its popularity throughout the land.

THE 1 2 3 RULE

Good writers obey this rule whenever they are about to discuss an important piece of evidence. • 1. Establish the context and purpose of the evidence. • 2. Present the evidence. • 3. Show how the evidence fits into the argument.

COUNTERCLAIM

• Counterclaim: A reasonable argument that opposes or disagrees with your claim.• “Signal” words for addressing counter claims:• One the one hand ___; on the other hand

___.• Although ___, in reality ___.• Author X contradicts what she says earlier...

While she argues ___, she also ___.• I agree that ___. However, ___.• This is not to say that ____.

EXAMPLE OF COUNTERCLAIM

Claim: Hybrid cars are an effective strategy to fight pollution.

Evidence 1: Driving a private car is a typical citizen's most air polluting activity.

Warrant : Because cars are the largest source of private, as opposed to industry produced, air pollution switching to hybrid cars should have an impact on fighting pollution.

Evidence 2: Each vehicle produced is going to stay on the road for roughly 12 to 15 years.

Warrant 2: Cars generally have a long lifespan, meaning that a decision to switch to a hybrid car will make a long-term impact on pollution levels.

Evidence 3: Hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor.

Warrant 3: This combination of technologies means that less pollution is produced. According to ineedtoknow.org "the hybrid engine of the Prius, made by Toyota, produces 90 percent fewer harmful emissions than a comparable gasoline engine."

Counterclaim: Instead of focusing on cars, which still encourages a culture of driving even if it cuts down on pollution, the nation should focus on building and encouraging use of mass transit systems.

CITATIONS

• http://sharepoint.mvla.net/teachers/StevenK/Language%20and%20Comp%20AP/Documents/AP_Exam_Preparation/Persuasive_Writing_and_the_Warrant.pdf• http://www2.ivcc.edu/rambo/eng1001/

argumentation.htm • http://rpdp.net/files/ccss/ELA/ELA_9-10_Curr_Res/

Writing%209-10/Writing%20Standard%201%20%289-10%29.pdf• http://www.fordham.edu/images/undergraduate/

english/thesis%20statements%20and%20counter%20claims.pdf