Claims Vs Counterclaims

Aim: How do we identify claims and counterclaims?

Quick Write: What do you think is the best advice parents can give their children about drugs, alcohol, and other risky behaviors?

An argument is a reasoned, logical way of demonstrating that a writer's position, belief or conclusion is valid. In ELA, students make claims about the worth or meaning of a literary work, defending their interpretation/opinion with evidence from the text. The same holds true for non-fiction works except that students defend their positions with information from the text.

A CLAIM is an argument or opinion that is powerful, unique, and can be supported by evidence. This is another word for "thesis" or "controlling idea."

A COUNTERCLAIM is any opposing idea. (The prefix "counter" means against.) Just as the best athletes anticipate what their opposing teams will do (the best defense is a good offense), good debaters anticipate what the opposing side will say and disprove their claims before they even get a chance to make them. This is what is called dismissing or refuting a counterclaim.

Step 1: Read "For Teenagers, a Tweak on `Just Say No'", identifying claims that are made on the best ways to teach teenagers about the risks of drugs and alcohol. (It will be necessary to infer some of these claims.)

Step 2: Anticipate any counterclaims that might arise to the claims you identified.

Step 3: On your blog, answer this question in at least one well-organized paragraph: Should parents abandon the "just say no" slogan of the Reagan era? Argue your position with facts and then anticipate and dismiss any possible counterclaims someone might raise.

Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1a Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.