OUSD History/Social Studies
Harper Building
314 E. 10th St.
Oakland, CA 94606
Directions for Counter-Argument
1) Explain the importance of counter argument.
2) Go over the model helping students to see what words signal a counter
argument.
3) Have students write the first paragraph of the argument on language in India.
4) Before having students write the second paragraph with the counter
argument, ask students to practice orally. For example, have one student
give an argument in favor of English and then ask another student to respond
using one of the sentence stems. Continue with this until you feel students
are comfortable with how the stems might be used.
5) Have students write the second paragraph.
6) Read “The Spread of the English Language” and have students underline all
the words that indicate a counter argument. This is a complex reading and
may require some vocabulary work.
7) If you wish, you can ask students if they have changed their minds about the
topic after hearing the counter arguments.
OUSD History-Social Studies / Preparing for Spring 2010 Assessment / 10th grade World History / p. #1
Practicing Counter Arguments
Writing a strong persuasive essay means that not only do you convey your own
ideas clearly, but you also discuss the ideas on the other side of the argument. This
can be difficult to do. Below is an exercise to help.
MODEL
Today in schools there is disagreement about whether students should be allowed
to bring cell phones. Below are some of the major arguments.
Arguments for cell phones
 It’s safer in the event of an emergency
 Cell phones are a new technology. We have to accept it and make it part of
our lives.
 Parents want us to have cell phones so they can reach us at school.
Arguments against cell phones
 When the phones ring in class it’s disruptive to the whole class.
 Cell phones allow people to cheat on tests.
 Students are so busy texting that they’re not paying attention to what is
going on in class.
If your thesis is “Cell phones should not be allowed in school” below is an argument
that someone could make without using the counter argument.
Cell phones should not be allowed in school. Students find it extremely disruptive when
they are trying to learn something new and someone’s phone starts ringing. In
addition, teachers are annoyed when they are giving a lecture and discover that
instead of listening and taking notes, students are texting each other. Finally, the use
of cells and texting means an increase in the amount of cheating. In addition to being
immoral, cheating hurts all those students who really did study. For all these reasons,
cell phones have no place in school.
If your thesis is “Cell phones should not be allowed in school” below is a model of an
argument that does acknowledge the argument on the other side – in other words
the counter argument.
Underline the sentences that have the counter argument.
OUSD History-Social Studies / Preparing for Spring 2010 Assessment / 10th grade World History / p. #2
Cell phones should not be allowed in school. Even though some parents want their
children to have phones, having them in the class is simply too disruptive. For
example, it is hard to learn something new when someone’s phone starts ringing.
It is true that cell phones are a new technology, but that technology does not belong in
the classroom. Teachers are annoyed when they are giving a lecture and discover that
instead of listening and taking notes, students are texting each other. Finally, the use
of cells and texting means an increase in the amount of cheating. In addition to being
immoral, cheating hurts all those students who really did study. For all these reasons,
cell phones have no place in school.
Why did you underline the sentences you did?
Now that you have read the model you can practice the skill of counter argument in
a paragraph about India.
Practicing Counter Argument
India is a nation of many languages. Currently English and Hindu are the only two
official languages. The majority of Indians speak Hindu, but the use of English is
controversial. Below are arguments for and against having English as an official
language in India.
Arguments for English
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English is spoken all over the world
Scientists use English as a common way to communicate new ideas
Over 90% of international organizations use English as one of their official
languages
India has over a hundred languages and needs one common language or no
one can communicate.
Almost all educated people in India speak English in addition to their native
language.
It costs too much money to have lots of different native languages – we would
have to print books, sings, everything, in too many languages.
Arguments Against English

English is dominant because England and now America dominate the world.
This is an evil legacy and to rid ourselves of our colonial past we must also
rid ourselves of English.
OUSD History-Social Studies / Preparing for Spring 2010 Assessment / 10th grade World History / p. #3
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To make English the dominant language is to adopt Western ideas. We want
our own ideas and language.
Each language is rich and unique. If one language like English is dominant,
the other languages will die off.
Half the world’s languages died between 1800 – 2000. We don’t want that to
happen to India.
When you stop using a language the culture is lost as well. We want to
preserve all the cultures in India.
To make English the dominant language is to favor the rich people – because
they have learned English already and the poor people haven’t.
Write a short paragraph taking a stand about whether English
should be an official language in India. Do not use the
counter argument in this paragraph. Check the thesis you
are going to write about. The thesis should either be:
_____I believe English should be an official language in India or
_____I do not believe English should be an official language in
India.
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OUSD History-Social Studies / Preparing for Spring 2010 Assessment / 10th grade World History / p. #4
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Below are some sentence stems that writers use when they are
making a counter argument:
But
Nevertheless
However
On the one hand
On the other hand
Even so,
While
It is true
Despite
In contrast
Yet,
Moreover
To some extent
Now, try re-writing your paragraph. This time, however,
include the counter-argument.
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OUSD History-Social Studies / Preparing for Spring 2010 Assessment / 10th grade World History / p. #5