Technical Reports: Counterarguments

When you are attempting to persuade your readers to consider a plan they might not be in favor of, you will need to adopt several strategies. One of those strategies involves stressing the benefits for the reader.

Stressing benefits is very helpful when you have to deal with possible counterarguments to your intended solution(s), which you definitely must do.

When it comes to considering counterarguments, your group should jot down as many as you can think of, like

  • It will cost too much to implement this plan.
  • We're tearing down that building anyway, so why make improvements to it?
  • It's just not feasible to retrofit older buildings for window air conditioners.
  • It's impossible to fix problems with BT.
  • There's no way we can notify everyone of pop-up construction on campus.
  • Until construction is finished, we're sorry but everyone will have to work around it -- even those with ADA concerns.

Your Solutions section will have to respond to potential counterarguments, so the key is to anticipate them and respond to them politely:

  • It will cost too much to implement this plan.
    • Although it will cost X amount, in the long term the plan will benefit everyone at VT by X and Y. [Then you go on to prove this.]
  • We're tearing down that building anyway, so why make improvements to it?
    • Because the building is not slated for destruction until [DATE], classes will continue to be held in it for the next [AMOUNT OF] years. To ensure that faculty and students have the best teaching and learning environments possible, we urge you to consider cost-efficient stopgap measures. Those measures could include A, B, and C. [Then you go on to talk about these measures.]
  • It's just not feasible to retrofit older buildings for window air conditioners.
    • While the cost and older infrastructures might not permit the installation of window air conditioners throughout older buildings, we propose that the university simplify the procedures for students with respiratory and other heat-related health issues to use air conditioners. [Then you go on to talk about the plan.]
  • It's impossible to fix problems with BT.
    • While we acknowledge that -- given the numbers of students, faculty, and staff who use BT hourly -- making large-scale improvements might not be feasible at present, even something as small as upgrading the app to enable real-time notifications would be a positive step forward. [Then you go on to talk about how.]
  • There's no way we can notify everyone of pop-up construction on campus.
    • Although we agree that emergencies on campus cannot be predicted and that pop-up construction might happen quickly, an app version of VT's accessibility map that allows for real-time updates and notifications would help everyone navigate to and from various points more effectively. [Then you go on to discuss how this might work.]
  • Until construction is finished, we're sorry but everyone will have to work around it -- even those with ADA concerns.
    • Construction on the VT campus is understandable, given the university's commitment to future growth. As a result, we realize that having to navigate around it is unavoidable. We suggest, though, two solutions that would help everyone accomplish this task: (a) real-time updates to the accessibility map app and (b) clearer signage to show paths around the work. [Then you go on to discuss these two plans.]

As a part of handling counterarguments, you will have to acknowledge that one solution is to DO NOTHING. The university does not have to fix older buildings constructed for the ADA (1990). It does not have to help people figure out ways around construction. It does not have to help students resolve issues with food insecurity. But your job is to convince VT that it should do these things -- that the benefits outweigh any inconveniences, costs, or doubts.