Claim

• The overall thesis the writer will

argue for.
 COUNTERCLAIM
• A claim that disagrees with the thesis/claim
ex. Claim: public schools are better than charter
schools because any students is allowed in
Counterclaims: charter schools are batter than
public schools because students learn more.
 REBUTTAL
• Evidence that disagrees with the counterclaim
Ex. Some may say charter schools are better
than public school but, studies have shown that
students in charter schools do not achieve a
higher success rate than students at public
school.
 Counterclaims
• A critical reader does not only focus on
claims after claims of a written text.
Analyzing an argument must also involve
the understanding of the evidence
presented by the writer as well as its
counterclaims.
 WHY USE A COUNTERCLAIM?
• A counterclaim addresses the argument
against your claim.
• Using a counterclaim, is just like a lawyer
bringing up the opposing argument in trial.
Counterclaims as defined by Tiongson
(2016), are “claims made to rebut a
previous claim.” this point of view is in
contrast to previous claims made by
the author.
According to the same writer, it takes familiarity of
the topic being discussed in the text as one of the
way to spot the counterclaims of the writer. In
order to present objectivity, the author must be
aware of the counterclaims to his/her claims.
Considering the other side of the argument may
help you identify the weaknesses and strength of
your claim, giving you the leeway to open more
details to make the readers believe.
The counterclaims in the text are usually
presented in a straightforward way. After
spotting these statement, you, as a
reader or writer, can clearly define your
position in a particular topic.
Tiongson give the following question that can help one formulate a
counterclaim:
• WHAT ARE THE MAJOR POINTS ON WHICH YOU AND THE AUTHOR CAN
DISAGREE?
• WHAT THE STRONGEST ARGUMENT? WHAT DID THEY SAY TO DEFEND
THEIR POSITION?
• WHAT ARE THE MERITS OF THEIR VIEW?
• WHAT ARE THE WEAKNESSES OR SHORTCOMINGS IN THEIR ARGUMENT?
• ARE THEYRE ANY HIDDEN ASSUMPTIONS?
• WHICH LINES FROM THE TEXT BEST SUPPORT THE COUNTERCLAIMS YOU
HAVE FORMULATED?