Claims and

Counterclaims

A thesis is…• What you believe and intend to prove in your essay• Answers the prompt • Includes the “why”

• Prompt: Who is to blame for the complications in Act II?• Example: Romeo is to blame for the complications in Act

II because he is thinking using the bottom half of the Chain of Being.

• Bad: Romeo is to blame.

A claim is…• A position on a topic presented in your paper• Supports your thesis• Reasons that prove your thesis

– Bad: Romeo is to blame.

– Good: Romeo is lustful for Juliet and not in love, which goes against Elizabethan beliefs.

– Bad: The characters in Buried Onions are flat.

– Good: Buried Onions presents simple caricatures of Mexican Americans, and the characters, particularly the protagonist Eddie, are flat.

A counterclaim is…• any position against your thesis– Prompt: What kind of character is Eddie and why? – Bad: Some disagree that Eddie is a flat character.

– Good: Despite Soto’s protagonist Eddie being a flat character, some may think he makes several key decisions which would otherwise indicate that he is, in fact, complex.

• Use the correct language to form your counterclaim– Although ________, some may think _______.– Despite _______, in reality _______.

Counterclaims are beneficial!• They acknowledge your reader’s intelligence• They enhances your credibility • They sharpen & clarify your thesis (main claim)• They provide a new way to argue your position

vs.

Ways to Establish Counterclaims

• Show others’ views to be faulty!– Faulty Factual Assumption– Faulty Analytical Assumption– Faulty Values– True but Irrelevant

This makes YOUR argument stronger!

Sample Thesis:

Thesis: Students in high school need to study the causes of racism.

1. Faulty Factual AssumptionRacism is a thing of the past; therefore, students don’t need to study it.• The factual assumption in this example is

that racism is a thing of the past. • Show that racism continues to be a problem.• And/or…show that students must

understand the past as well as the present to function adequately in civil society.

2. Faulty Analytical AssumptionLearning about racism might make students more racist.• The analytical assumption is that learning

about racism can make you racist. • Show that the cause(s) of a problem is not the

same as causing or creating the problem.

3. Faulty ValuesIt does not matter that students are racist.• The faulty value is that it does not matter if

students are racist.• Show that it DOES matter!

4. True but IrrelevantStudents are already familiar with racism; they don’t need to study it in school.• Acknowledge that while many students are, in

fact, already familiar with racism, they still need to learn what causes it.

5. YOUR argument gets stronger!Previous generations didn’t study the causes of racism, so students now don’t need to.• Show that previous generations did not

function adequately in civil society because they had problems with racism.

• 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.

Structure of a Body Paragraph

1

2

3

4

5

Topic Sentence (1 sentence)

Analyze Quotation (2-3)

Give context/background (1-2 sentences)

Integrated Quotation from Text

Concluding Sentence (1 sentence – connects back to your topic sentence)

1. Draw Inferences

2. Connect to Topic Sentence

Transition to next point; context for next example (2 Sentences)

Quotation

8

Analysis7

6

Counterclaim Paragraph

1. State the counterclaim2. Turn against

1. Explain the counterclaim2. Give evidence 3. Provide the warrant (elaboration/ analysis)

3. Turn back/refute1. Explain the evidence AGAINST the counterclaim2. Give evidence3. Provide the warrant (elaboration/ analysis)

4. Conclude paragraph

Counterclaim

1

2

3

4

5

Turn Against (Counters Thesis)

Analyze Quotation (2-3)

Give context/background (1-2 sentences)

Integrated Quotation from Text

Concluding Sentence (Bring together what you found out)

1. Draw Inferences

2. Connect to Topic Sentence

Turn Back/Refute; Explain (2 sentences)

Integrated Quotation

8

Analysis7

6

State Counterclaim – Turn Against

Introduce the counterargument. Use correct language:

Although ________, some may think _______.

Despite _______, in reality _______.

Turn Back/Refute

Now that you have examined the counterargument, return to your original argument.

Use correct language:Transition + why the counter is wrong

However, reason why counter wrongAlthough, reason why counter wrong

Turn Back/Refute Example• Prompt: Which character do you believe has grown the most?

• Thesis: Connor has grown the most due to the impact he has on other characters.

• Claim #1: Connor becomes a trusted leader to the unwinds. Quote to support: “As Connor talks, he makes eye contact with every one of them, making sure he remembers each of their faces. Making sure each of them feels recognized. Unique. Important” (332-333).

• Counterclaim: Although Connor makes drastic changes, Risa also changes as a person by learning to trust again. Quote to support: “...Risa takes a moment to look down at the shark on his wrist. It holds no fear for her now, because the shark has been tamed by the soul of a boy. No – the soul of a man” (322).

• Turn Back/Refute: Although, Connor is the catalyst to helping Risa overcome her fears and trust issues.

• Quote to support: When Connor and Risa are together as advocates for the unwinds at the end of the novel.

State Counterclaim

Introduce the counterargument. Use correct language:

Although ________, some may think _______.

Despite _______, in reality _______.

Citation

• (Shusterman page #)