Copyright © 2007 Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. All rights reserved. Concession/Rebuttal (sometimes called counterargue and refute) A concession is a counter-argument to your position. In a concession, you acknowledge that certain opposing arguments have some truth. The rebuttal is your response to the concession. The rebuttal explains how the counter-argument does not weaken your argument. This makes you sound open–minded. I know what other kids would say… I have a possible solution to this problem. I realize most teachers don’t want cell phones in class because they cause problems, but…

Transitional Phrases – Concession/Rebuttal It is true that…however…therefore… Certainly…but…in short… Unfortunately…however Copyright © 2007 Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. All rights reserved.

Example Unfortunately, there are those who disagree with delaying school start times. These opponents often claim that changing the schedule could cut into families’ time with their kids, since school start times would mean school ending later too. MacKenzie Dean-Grady, an eighth grader in California doesn’t agree with later start times. She told the Long Beach Daily News, "I like spending that time not just on homework but with my family and friends.” However, delaying school start time by an hour would only cause the day to end an hour later, and in reality most parents would still be at work when school ends, even if the schedule were revised. In fact, there could even be advantages to ending the day later. As The New York Times noted, “We should see it as an opportunity to extend the day even further until 5 p.m. or later. It would help working parents if their children were on the same basic schedule.” Clearly, starting and ending the school day later would not hurt family time, and could ultimately benefit families by providing a simpler schedule. Copyright © 2007 Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. All rights reserved.