All academic and business writing simply has to have absolutely perfect grammar, punctuation, spelling, formatting, and composition. Our How To Open An Opposing Viewpoints Essay experts proofread and edit your project with a detailed eye and with complete knowledge of all writing and style conventions. Proofreading sets any writing apart from “acceptable” and makes it exceptional/10() May 19, · Paper Topics and Opposing Viewpoints Topics to Consider Search this Guide Search. Paper Topics and Opposing Viewpoints. Find sources for topics and topics that are controversial. *Controversial or those with opposing views are marked with a (C). Topics A to G - What happened? This link opens in a new window; Use neutral language when you present opposing viewpoints. Examples of neutral words are “contends,” “argues,” “suggests,” “admits,” ” claims,” and “believes.” You can introduce counterarguments with direct quotations from an opposing expert by paraphrasing, by offering a rhetorical example, or by offering a conditional statement
How to Write an Opposing Viewpoint Essay | Pen and the Pad
An argument must, by definition, take a stance on an issue and provide evidence for a particular conclusion. However, writers may neglect the next step, which is just as important: discussing opposing viewpoints and providing counterarguments. There is far less satisfaction in making a convincing argument if objections are left unanswered and evidence is swept under the rug. The best way to counteract an opposing viewpoint is to anticipate opposing viewpoints essay an opponent might say.
Take note of their rationale and use of evidence. That way, you will be familiar enough with these opposing viewpoints to argue against them. When you encounter dissenting opinions, try to figure out why smart and rational people opposing viewpoints essay hold those positions. What evidence do they look at?
How do they interpret that evidence? Why might they disagree with your point of view? To move yourself out of this emotional realm and back into the realm of the well-reasoned argument, opposing viewpoints essay, try taking a strategy opposing viewpoints essay debate tournaments.
Debaters prepare for tournaments by gathering information opposing viewpoints essay both sides of a topic. When you encounter these dissenting opinions, get curious. Try to figure out why smart and rational people would hold those positions, opposing viewpoints essay. What life experiences might lead them to disagree with your point of view?
For example, a person who has grown up hunting in a community that has never experienced gun violence might have a very different perspective on gun control than someone whose child was the victim of a shooting.
Then, when you begin structuring your argument, imagine how your skeptical reader might react to your thesis statement and each of your claims. Imagine that this reader is smart, informed, has thought carefully about the issue, and has reached a totally different conclusion. Try to persuade this reader; opposing viewpoints essay hard to demonstrate why your position is more convincing than the alternatives.
So, how might one go about making such fundamental decisions? Introducing opposing viewpoints is necessary, but do not stop there. The burden of proof is on you, as the author of the argument. If you fail to neutralize a common objection, readers will have an excuse to reject your argument. The strongest arguments are those which carefully consider all perspectives in an attempt to find the most reasonable view of the issue, opposing viewpoints essay.
Your readers will deeply appreciate your efforts because they show respect for both the seriousness of your mission and for the readers themselves.
Enjoy the process! You can boost your credibility by acknowledging specific sources who disagree with your position, then effectively refuting their arguments. Your job during the research phase is to find counterarguments and material to refute them, and in the drafting phase to construct your argument in a way that incorporates these objections and counterarguments.
You can boost your credibility by acknowledging specific sources who disagree with your position. However, if you cite counterarguments from experts in the field, and then work to refute those arguments effectively, you can lend authority to your own argument.
If you consistently come from your side of the issue, you may miss articles by some of the stronger opponents. Follow the path of each objection to discover its roots. Gather quotes summarizing their viewpoints and then go digging to find statistics and other research that both back and counter their claims.
If your mind is changed in the process, so be it! You can change your thesis and claims and argue for the other side of the issue. There are many valid ways to introduce an opposing view, but do try to present it in a neutral manner before you shoot it down. The more your readers believe that you are being fair to your opponents, opposing viewpoints essay, the more likely they are opposing viewpoints essay be open to your refutation.
You can quote an expert in the field who has publicly objected to the your thesis. Or you can quote a politician or another public figure who has recently brought up the issue keeping in mind that this latter option dates your paperas long as you do it respectfully. For example:.
And the last sentence tells the reader you will deal with each of the concerns—violation of territorial integrity, safety, opposing viewpoints essay, and well-being—in your refutation. An advantage of using quotations is that you are allowing the opposition to speak for itself. Paraphrasing is a similar approach but allows you to contextualize the comment. This is called a concession. You are conceding that the opposing argument is not completely false. Of course, you will go on to explain why this counterargument is not conclusive, but as you introduce it, you show that you understand the logical and rational basis for the argument.
Another way to present a counterargument is to introduce it in your own words in the form of an example, opposing viewpoints essay. Here, the writer approaches concession by acknowledging that it makes sense to at least consider this counterargument. If this is true, then that may be true. While all of the above examples use a serious and respectful tone to introduce counterarguments, there is another option that can be effective, depending on your audience and your opposing viewpoints essay. Satire is a humorous tone that can be deployed in summarizing a position in order to not only draw out its shortcomings, but also to correct or change the shortcomings of the opposing viewpoints essay. It is less likely to be used in academic writing.
For example, opposing viewpoints essay, in a popular as opposed to academic or professional essay advocating for strictly enforced leash laws in cities, opposing viewpoints essay, you might write something like this:, opposing viewpoints essay. Well-done satire can make the reader smile, perhaps even if he or she is one of the pet-friendly owners referenced in the paragraph.
The trick is to use this technique without alienating readers, and that is not an easy balance. And even if your reader agrees with your thesis, she may be turned off completely by the lack of respect for other readers. You can poke fun and be respectful at the same time.
You may be tempted to weaken an objection to your argument by turning it into a straw man, or a flimsy version of the original point. A straw-man opposing viewpoints essay can make a point overly simplistic, describe an incomplete concept or opposing viewpoints essay a point out of context. You may have heard talk-radio hosts and opinion columnists employ this strategy. In truth, the straw man is a well-known tactic, and readers can detect it quite easily.
If you shortchange the opposing viewpoint, your readers will suspect that you are trying to compensate for shortcomings in your own argument. Your argument will be much stronger if you present opposing viewpoints in a sympathetic light. Compare the following examples:. In reality, students can find the time to study if they learn time-management skills. Some students admit that they see cheating as the only way to reconcile their conflicting obligations.
However, students can find the time to study if they work on their time-management skills. The second example presents the argument more sympathetically and realistically. It acknowledges that students may face legitimate difficulties as they opposing viewpoints essay to find time to study for all of their classes.
That includes researching to find the thought leaders on the opposing side of your topic, presenting their arguments in an honest light, and then moving into respectful refutation. After you present the likely objections to your argument, you can show your readers why they should be willing to take your side. Remember, opposing viewpoints essay, skeptical readers need to be convinced that your position is more reasonable than their own, and so your refutation will need to be both accurate and thorough.
Depending on your writing style and material, your argument could follow various structural formats:. This strategy gets objections out in the open right away, opposing viewpoints essay, which can be especially useful for radical or unexpected thesis statements. You are anticipating what each claim might bring up for the reader and handling it immediately, so he or she has no opportunity to get hung up on the objection. There are four basic parts to a refutation of an opposing argument: you introduce the counterargument, state your objection to it, offer evidence to support your view, and draw a clear conclusion by comparing the viewpoints head to head.
Present the view accurately and fairly, and possibly concede that there is reason or merit to this perspective. It may be in the form of a question or statement. You could phrase it as a statement, as opposed to a question. How are they different? Would the statement be more direct? Colorful language, appeals to emotion, opposing viewpoints essay, and rhetorical devices hold little weight against a clearly fleshed-out position supported by appropriate examples and solid evidence offered by reputable sources.
In this fourth step, the conflict must be resolved. Why is yours the stronger one? Rather than addressing every possible objection to your thesis, you may decide at this point to eliminate the lesser objections, so as not to overload the paper with counterarguments. Make sure your claims and your refutations are not repetitive. If you have a refutation that simply repeats one of your claims, see if you can find a different way to refute the opposing argument. Your reader will lose interest the minute you get repetitive.
Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Writing an Effective Paper. Search for:. Incorporating Objections and Opposing Views. Opposing viewpoints essay Importance of Addressing Opposing Views When you consider and counteract opposing arguments, you strengthen your own argument.
Learning Objectives Match an argument to a corresponding counterargument. Key Takeaways Key Points An argument is a written or spoken form of defense. An argument should take a stance about a particular point of view, opposing viewpoints essay, thesis, or claim. Try to anticipate what objections your readers might have to your argument, and try to understand why they might object. An academic argument supports its claim with sound reasoning, opposing viewpoints essay, research, and evidence such as facts, statistics, and quoted opposing viewpoints essay from authorities on both sides of the argument.
Intro to Opposing Viewpoints
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Use neutral language when you present opposing viewpoints. Examples of neutral words are “contends,” “argues,” “suggests,” “admits,” ” claims,” and “believes.” You can introduce counterarguments with direct quotations from an opposing expert by paraphrasing, by offering a rhetorical example, or by offering a conditional statement Apr 17, · An opposing viewpoint essay calls for a student to investigate a topic and evaluate the evidence supporting one side of an argument. This type of essay calls for extensive research of literature and, at times, empirical research through surveys and interviews. Opposing essays cover controversial topics, such as environmental policy, media violence, illegal immigration, genetic engineering, and All academic and business writing simply has to have absolutely perfect grammar, punctuation, spelling, formatting, and composition. Our How To Open An Opposing Viewpoints Essay experts proofread and edit your project with a detailed eye and with complete knowledge of all writing and style conventions. Proofreading sets any writing apart from “acceptable” and makes it exceptional/10()
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