Answering the other side
The strongest argument is the one that has already survived the best objection to it.
Part of your national curriculum
- Writing: Write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information, including well-structured formal expository and narrative essays
- Writing: Amend the vocabulary, grammar and structure of their writing to improve its coherence and overall effectiveness
- Spoken English: Participate in formal debates and structured discussions, summarising and/or building on what has been said
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Address and rebut a counter-argument
Key learning points
- • Concede, then turn
- • Straw men lose marks
This lesson at a glance
- 30 minutes
- 9 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 9
Watch first
Answering the other side
An English teaching video on this topic from Learn on the Go . Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
In a nutshell
Address and rebut a counter-argument
Explore the idea
Part 2 of 9
Learn
Concede, then turn
State the opposing point fairly, accept what is true in it, then show why your position still holds. 'It is true that… However, this overlooks…'
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 9
Learn
Straw men lose marks
Weakening the other side to beat it is obvious to a reader. Take the strongest version of the opposing case.
Quick check
Part 4 of 9
Quick check
A rebuttal should first…
Quick check
Part 5 of 9
Quick check
A straw man argument is…
Quick check
Part 6 of 9
Quick check
'It is true that… however…' is an example of…
Challenge round
Part 7 of 9
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Mastery quiz
Part 8 of 9
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Answering the other side
3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. A rebuttal should first…
2. A straw man argument is…
3. 'It is true that… however…' is an example of…
Lesson round-up
Part 9 of 9
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
Not sat
Games
Not played
Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
The last bus
The bus shelter smelled of wet coats. Mira pressed her timetable flat against the glass, as though staring at the numbers might make the 9:42 appear. Rain tapped the roof in small, impatient fingers. Somewhere behind her, a shop shutter came down with a sound like a full stop.
She had been brave all day. She had been brave in the corridor, brave at lunch, brave when the register reached her name and nobody looked up. Being brave, she decided, was mostly a matter of keeping your face still.
Headlights swung around the corner and lit the puddles gold. Mira picked up her bag. Tomorrow she would say something. Tonight she would simply go home.
Original extract written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- Find two words or phrases that show how Mira is feeling, and explain what each one suggests.
- How does the writer use the weather and the sounds to build the mood? Use a short quotation.
- Write the next paragraph in the same style, keeping the writer's short sentences at the moments that matter.
Reading response
ReadingRead the extract again, then write about how the writer makes you feel that way. Use a short quotation and explain your choice of words.
2 paragraphs (PEE)
Extended writing
WritingWrite your piece in full, then redraft the opening so it hooks the reader.
250–350 words
Reading log
ReadingNote the book, the pages you read and one thing you noticed about the writing.
20 minutes' reading
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 9 · Watch & discover
How this is going
- Not looked at yet
Write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information, including well-structured formal expository and narrative essays
- Not looked at yet
Amend the vocabulary, grammar and structure of their writing to improve its coherence and overall effectiveness
- Not looked at yet
Participate in formal debates and structured discussions, summarising and/or building on what has been said