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Both Sides of the Story, a la Shmoop Okay, so you’re an expert on your topic,

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but hold on, bucko. We always need to hear both sides of the story.

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Have you considered other points of view? The thing is, there are usually more than

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two sides of the story… …and you’ll earn the respect and trust

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of your readers by acknowledging it. Point out who might see the issue differently

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and why. Get the most bang for your buck by choosing

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the strongest or most common arguments against your position.

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Give your opposition a fair trial by explaining their point of view.

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Use words such as “while,” “although,” and “however” to introduce competing points

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of view. Don’t set up other opinions just to knock

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‘em down without a fair trial. Be craftier than that.

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Poke holes in the argument by showing how it’s uninformed, illogical, or outdated.

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You’ll probably wish you could razz the opposition, but bite your tongue.

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Keep your tone respectful and your attitude in check, cowboy. As the saying goes, kill

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‘em with kindness and bury ‘em with a smile.

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But hey, you still want to stand your ground in your essay…

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… so here are a few tips for giving the other guy his fifteen minutes then bumping

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him out of the spotlight. For every standard 5-paragraph essay—you

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know - the intro, body, conclusion—confine the competing points of view to a single paragraph.

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In longer papers, a good rule of thumb is one paragraph of counterargument for each

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major section. There’s always someone who will come along

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and argue with your point of view…

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…so beat ‘em to the punch by choosing relevant counterarguments…

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… presenting them accurately and respectfully…

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… pointing out stuff the other guy failed to consider…

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… and confining your courtesy rebuttal to about one-fifth of your essay.

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Then ease back into your own argument. Now you can confidently say that you’ve

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looked at both sides of the story.

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It’s what those in the business world call, “Covering one’s butt.”

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Blurb: When presenting an argument in an essay, you may want to play Devil’s Advocate. Don’t

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play it with the Devil himself, though. That guy always wins.

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