After you state a counterargument fairly, you answer it in two moves. A concession grants what is true in the other view. A rebuttal answers the rest. The classic shape is “Granted, …; but …”.
Key idea
Concede what is true, then rebut what you can: dispute the evidence, dispute the reasoning, or show that your side outweighs it. Your claim should still stand at the end of the paragraph.
Why it works
Conceding a true point costs you little and earns trust. Readers who hold the other view feel heard, so they keep reading. Then your rebuttal answers them with reasons, not with dismissal.
| Kind of rebuttal | Says | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Dispute the evidence | The facts are wrong or incomplete. | The cost figure leaves out the grant the state offers. |
| Dispute the reasoning | The facts don’t lead there. | Fewer riders in winter doesn’t mean the bike lane is unused all year. |
| Outweigh | True, but our side matters more. | Practices would end later, but students would gain an hour of sleep each day. |
Worked example: Granted, but
Objection: “Trees on Main Street would cost money to water and trim.” Write a concession and a rebuttal.
- Concede what is true: yes, young trees need watering and trimming for a few years.
- Rebut by outweighing: shade lowers summer temperatures on the street, which brings shoppers and walkers.
- Or dispute the evidence: the garden club has offered to water the trees for their first two summers.
Answer: “Granted, young trees need care for a few years; but the garden club has offered to water them, and shade brings shoppers back to Main Street in July.”
Common mistake
Two opposite slips. Conceding so much that your claim disappears (“They’re right about everything, so maybe we shouldn’t plant trees, but I still think we should”). Or rebutting by attacking the people on the other side (“Only selfish people worry about the cost”), which is an attack on the person, not an answer. Check: after your rebuttal, is your claim still standing, and did you answer the reason rather than the person?
Debaters practice the same moves; see Refutation and Rebuttal.