Planting a Naysayer and
Answering the Opposition
Planting a Naysayer in Your Text Ch. 6
of They Say / I Say
• No argument occurs in a vacuum. Everyone
comes to most topics with some already
formed opinions or ideas in the back of their
minds. Your job as a persuasive writer is to
anticipate the most common of those ideas
and to refute them.
• Refute: to prove false or erroneous (mistaken).
Prove a person to be in error.
Example of an Answer to the
Opposition:
• In Chapter 6 of They Say, I Say, the authors use Kim Chernin’s
book about women and the pressure to be thin.
• Chernin’s claim: The pressure to be thin is harmful to women.
• The naysayer/opposition’s argument (p. 80): Losing weight helps
her feel better about herself, have more confidence. (So… this
pressure to be thin is not so harmful.)
• Chernin’s answer to the opposition (p. 88): A vast percentage of
women who lose weight gain it back and then some, making the
gain in self-confidence temporary and putting women in a worse
position than they were in to begin with.
• By including a naysayer (an opposing view) in her argument and
answering it, Chernin strengthens her original stance.
Examples of Planting a Naysayer in
Readings
• Some essays/articles devote entire sections to
answering opposition claims because the author knows
that the audience may have heard those claims before
and needs to deal with them before moving on.
• For example, in “TV Diversity: Whose Job Is It
Anyway?” the author includes some common
opposition claims that offer reasons for the lack of
representation. THEN, after she has brought up the
opposition claim, she REFUTES the claim by explaining
how the opposition's reasoning is weak.
When Answering an Opposing
Argument…
• Make sure that the opposing argument is actually an
opinion that a reasonable person might have, or that you
have seen often in debates about this subject. Making up a
ridiculous or outlandish claim that is not being put forward
by anyone who opposes you just to knock it down is called
a “straw man” argument, this is a logical fallacy, and it
makes your argument look weak.
• Be fair. Summarize the opposing argument in a way that
someone who holds it would recognize and agree with.
• Avoid making judgments about the character or emotional
state of people who hold the opposing opinion.
• Make sure that your answer (refutation) of the opposing
argument is strong and relevant. (Don’t just dismiss the
opposing argument with “that doesn’t matter.)
Planting a Naysayer, Cont.
• Remember, the purpose of planting a Naysayer in
your essay is to show that you are aware of the
other side’s argument, aware that not everyone is
going to agree with you immediately, and that
you have an answer for those arguments or
objections.
• This means that you need to make sure that your
argument is stronger for having included the
naysayer because you have answered the
opposition.
Group Work With “TV Can Be a Good
Parent” on p. 454
• We are going to divide into groups based on
whether we agree or disagree with Ariel
Gore’s assertion that parents who let their
young children watch television are not
necessarily bad parents, and the guidelines
put out by the American Academy of
Pediatrics strongly discouraging TV watching
are too simplistic.
Group Work: Counterarguments
• Now that we have divided into those who agree
and those who don’t, each side is going to come
up with three counterarguments to your position.
• Use the “TV Can Be a Good Parent” essay to
inspire discussion. If you agree with Gore, what
are some reasonable problems people might
have with her ideas? If you disagree with Gore,
what are some of her arguments that disagree
with your stance?
Group Work: Refuting the
Counterargument
• Now that we have a list of counterarguments
on each side of the debate, work with your
group to refute three counterarguments.
These may be the original three your group
came up with, or they may be other
counterarguments from the class list.
• Remember to specifically address the
concerns of a hypothetical reader holding the
view that opposes yours.
Answering the Opposition in Essay #2
• Have you run across any articles/opinions about your claim that
differ from yours?
• How might you answer those differing opinions? Do you have
good reasons that you agree with one point of view and not the
other?
• Are there places in your essay where your argument would be
strengthened by inserting a naysayer into your text and then
answering the naysayer’s points?
• If you have already included a naysayer in your essay, reread that
section and make necessary changes.
• If you have not already included a naysayer, write a brief
paragraph where you do so using the source I asked you to bring
with you for today.
Planting a Naysayer Practice: Part 1
• For this first exercise, I want you to think about a
strong opinion you have on a topic that interests you.
– For the best results, choose an opinion whose opposition
is familiar to you.
– Choose an opinion about which there is considerable
debate.
– Your opinion might be about sports, television, makeup,
cars, politics, current events, makeup, films… it doesn’t
matter what the topic is. What matters is that you
UNDERSTAND why you think what you think and that you
UNDERSTAND the reasons people disagree.
Planting a Naysayer Practice: Part 1
• Write a paragraph or two where you do these things:
• Give your readers CONTEXT for the argument you are
about to dive into. Briefly introduce the topic and give your
readers any relevant information they will need to
understand the naysayer and your response.
• SUMMARIZE OR QUOTE the opinions of those who disagree
with you FAIRLY and THOROUGHLY.
• RESPOND to the opposing points you have just summarized
or quoted in such a way that your opposition is discredited
and YOUR claim is strengthened.
– Explain why the reader should side with YOU and not with your
opposition. Poke holes in the naysayer’s logic, point out
inconsistencies in his or her thinking, etc.
Peer Response to Naysayer Practice
• Can you identify the claim?
• Is the naysayers position fairly, rationally
explained? Or is the naysayer a “straw man”?
• Is the response to the naysayer strong? Is the
claim stronger for having included the
naysayer?