STEPS OF A COUNTERARGUMENT

1. Counterargument state the opposite side’s opinion

2. Agree a little (Clearly, Indeed, Naturally, of course)
3. Refute the other side’s opinion (u-turn: however, but,
while, although, even though)
4. Support your refutation (why you think they’re wrong) and
restate your own position (therefore)
Thesis: Beauty pageants for young children are bad. 
Parents of extremely young beauty pageant contestants believe
that these competitive contests help build their children’s
confidence.  Maybe in some way such pageants could help
children’s confidence by giving them experience in performing
in front of an audience. Although this may be true just for the
winner of the contest, dozens of other little girls might be hurt
and disappointed. However, this behavior is too much for
children because it might hurt children in their growth and
development to be judged on their appearance, which they
can’t control. Some parents might criticize another child to
make their own child feel better or superior. We can all
remember times in our childhood when others judged the way
we looked and made us sad. Therefore, parents shouldn’t
encourage their children to enter these kinds of competitions.

Thesis: Health insurance companies should pay for preventive
wellness activities. 
A majority of health insurance companies do not provide
financial coverage $$$ for preventive wellness activities like
nutrition management classes or gym membership, stating that
they are too costly to manage.  $$ Perhaps the preventive
wellness activities might waste some money. Obviously, paying
for the gym memberships of thousands of people will be
expensive in the short term. However, if the insurance
companies include these activities, they will attract more
people to buy their insurance, thus increasing profits for the
company. In addition, the company will save money because
people will stay healthier as a result of the preventive wellness
activities. While a gym membership costs about $35/month, it
can cost several hundred dollars just to visit a doctor, let alone
receive follow-up treatment. Therefore, insurance companies
should pay for preventive wellness care for their customers. 
Thesis: There should be a fast-food ban in high schools. 
Opponents of the fast-food ban in high schools insist that
students should have the freedom to eat whatever they wish.
 Obviously, high school students should have some freedom
over their own lives, including what they wear and what
activities they do after school. However, adults have the
responsibility to care about students’ health. In the same way
that adults do not permit students to smoke, drink alcohol, or
take drugs on campus, they should also not be allowed to eat
foods that have been proven to be unhealthy. Fast food makes
students feel idle and lazy and bloated in class, so it will not
help their studies. Therefore, schools shouldn’t sell students
fast food. 
Thesis: People should not be vegetarians. (no meat or fish) 
(vegan=no milk, cheese, eggs)
Some people believe eating meat is cruel.  Obviously, killing
animals is part of the food production process. However,
humans have been doing this for thousands of years, and many
humane ways of obtaining the meat have been developed. For
example, in Muslim and Jewish traditions, the animals must not
suffer as they are killed. There are also numerous government
regulations that guide meat producers in the humane
processing of their animals. In addition, is it any less cruel to kill
an animal than a plant? Vegetarians must kill plants to eat.
Does this also make them cruel? Therefore, killing animals for
food is a normal part of civilization and no more cruel than
killing plants. 