66 CHAPTER 3 | FRom IdEnTIFyIng ClAIms To AnAlyzIng ARgumEnTs■ (^) Identify Concessions
Part of the strategy of developing a main claim supported with good rea-
sons is to offer a concession, an acknowledgment that readers may not
agree with every point the writer is making. A concession is a writer’s way
of saying, “Okay, I can see that there may be another way of looking at the
issue or another way to interpret the evidence used to support the argu-
ment I am making.”
For instance, you may not want your energy costs to go up, but after
examining the reasons why it may be necessary to increase taxes on gaso-
line — to lower usage and conserve fossil fuels — you might concede that a
tax increase on gasoline could be useful. The willingness to make conces-
sions is valued in academic writing because it acknowledges both com-
plexity and the importance of multiple perspectives. It also acknowledges
the fact that information can always be interpreted in different ways.
The Sadkers make a concession when they acknowledge in the last para-
graph of the excerpt that “it is difficult to detect sexism unless you know pre-
cisely how to observe.” And, they explain, “if a lifetime of socialization makes
it difficult to spot gender bias even when you’re looking for it, how much
harder it is to avoid the traps when you are the one doing the teaching.”
Notice that these concessions do not weaken their argument. The
authors’ evidence appears overwhelmingly to support their thesis. The les-
son here is that conceding a point in your argument shows that you have
acknowledged there are other ways of seeing things, other interpretations.
This is an important part of what it means to enter a conversation of ideas.
Often a writer will signal a concession with phrases like the following:
• “It is true that^.^.^ .”
• “I agree with X that Y is an important factor to consider.”
• “Some studies have convincingly shown that^.^.^ .”
Generally, the writer will then go on to address the concession, explaining
how it needs to be modified or abandoned in the light of new evidence or
the writer’s perspective on the issue.
■ (^) Identify Counterarguments
As the term suggests, a counterargument is an argument raised in re -
sponse to another argument. You want to be aware of and acknowl-
edge what your readers may object to in your argument. Anticipating
readers’ objections is an important part of developing a conversational
argument.
For example, if you were arguing in support of universal health care,
you would have to acknowledge that the approach departs dramatically
from the traditional role the federal government has played in providing
health insurance. That is, most people’s access to health insurance has
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