Rhetorical terms · AP English Language, SAT Reading and Writing, ACT Reading
Counterargument
Also called: Counterclaim, Opposing view
Counterargument: An opposing view or objection to a writer's claim, which the writer may acknowledge and answer.
By the CollegePrepRoom editorial team · Updated · How we write and check these pages
What it means
A counterargument is the strongest case against your position. Including one shows that you have thought about the issue fully and lets you answer objections before the reader raises them. Writers respond with concession, rebuttal or refutation, or by qualifying their claim.
Ignoring an obvious counterargument can weaken credibility; answering it well strengthens ethos and the argument.
Example
'Critics argue that a four-day school week would leave working parents without childcare on Fridays. That concern is real, which is why the plan pairs the shorter week with free Friday programs at each school.'
On the exam
Responding to an alternative perspective is a scored point on the AP Gov argument essay and a common route to the sophistication point in AP Lang.
Lessons and practice questions
Related terms
- ConcessionAcknowledging that part of an opposing argument is valid before explaining why one's own position still holds.
- RebuttalA response that answers a counterargument by showing it is flawed, incomplete or outweighed.
- QualificationLimiting a claim to the conditions or cases where it holds, making it more precise and defensible.