Develop a response to objections or alternative solutions.

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The topics you considered when developing an argument for your solution may be the same topics you need to consider when developing a response to likely criticisms of your proposal—answering possible objections to your solution or alternative solutions readers may prefer. The following sentence strategies may help you start drafting an effective response.

Ways In

How Can I Draft a Refutation or Concession?

To draft a refutation, try beginning with sentence strategies like these:

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  • Some people think we can’t afford to do [name solution], but it would only cost $ to put my solution in place compared to $ , the cost of [doing nothing/implementing an alternative solution].
  • Although it might take [number of months/years] to implement this solution, it would actually take longer to implement [alternative solution].
  • There are critics who think that only a few people would benefit from solving this problem, but would benefit because .
  • Some may suggest that I favor this solution because I would benefit personally; however, the fact is we would all benefit because .
  • Some may claim that this solution has been tried and hasn’t worked. But research shows that [explain how proposed solution has worked] or my solution differs from past experiments in these important ways: , , and .

To draft a concession, try beginning with sentence strategies like these:

  • I agree with those who [claim X/object on X grounds]; therefore, instead of , I think we should pursue .
  • If seems too [time-consuming/expensive], let’s try .
  • Where is a concern, I think [name alternative] should be followed.
  • Although is the best way to deal with a problem like this, under [describe special circumstances], I agree that should be done.