Should legal marriage be available to couples of the same sex?
In your paper,
- Present a revised argument in standard form, with each premise and the conclusion on a separate line.
- Present a counterargument in standard form, with each premise and the conclusion on a separate line.
- Provide support for each premise of your counterargument. Clarify the meaning of the premise and supporting evidence for the premise.
- Pay special attention to those premises that could be seen as controversial. Evidence may include academic research sources, supporting arguments, or other ways of demonstrating the truth of the premise (for more ideas about how to support the truth of premises take a look at the instructor guidance for this week). This section should include at least one scholarly research source. For guidance about how to develop a conclusion see the Ashford Writing Center’s Introductions and Conclusions.
- Explain how the conclusion of the counterargument follows from its premises. [One paragraph]
- Discuss the primary points of disagreement between sincere and intelligent proponents of both sides. [One to two paragraphs]
- For example, you might list any premises or background assumptions on which you think such proponents would disagree and briefly state what you see as the source of the disagreement, you could give a brief explanation of any reasoning that you think each side would find objectionable, or you could do a combination of these.
- Present the best objection to your original argument. Clearly indicate what part of the argument your objection is aimed at, and provide a paragraph of supporting evidence for the objection. Reference at least one scholarly research source. [One to two paragraphs]
- See the “Practicing Effective Criticism” section of Chapter 9 of your primary textbook for more information about how to present an objection.
For further instruction on how to create arguments, see the How to Construct a Valid Main Argument and Tips for Creating an Inductively Strong Argument documents as well as the video Constructing Valid Arguments.
For an example of how to complete this paper, take a look at the following Week Three Annotated Example. Let your instructor know if you have questions about how to complete this paper.
In this class, you have three tutoring services available: Paper Review, Live Chat, and Tutor E-mail. Click on the Ashford Writing Center (AWC) tab in the left-navigation menu to learn more about these tutoring options and how to get help with your writing. |
The Counterargument Paper
- Must be 500 to 800 words in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (for more information about using APA style, take a look at the APA Essay Checklist for Students webpage).
- Must include a separate title page with the following:
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
- Must use at least two scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
- The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
- Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (for more information about how to create an APA reference list, take a look at the APA References List webpage).
- Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.