Dr. Matt Kuefler

4. MAKING A CONCESSION

Why should I make a concession to a different point of view?

Let's face it: in life, things are seldom entirely one thing or the other, and there is almost always a bit of ambiguity or uncertainty. So it is unrealistic to suppose that your thesis, however clear and thoughtful it is, will be entirely convincing or account for all of the facts. Rather than ignore facts that don't fit your theory, therefore, it is usually best to make some concession to an alternative point of view. That is, you accept that someone arguing from a different perspective has some valid reason or reasons for doing so, just not as compelling as the reasons to support your own point of view.

How should such a concession be organized?

It is best to develop what I call a paragraph of concession. You begin this paragraph by admitting that there are some who do not accept your thesis, and that there is the possibility for holding a different point of view. You then provide one or two reasons for holding such a point of view, reasons that work against your thesis. But -- and this is essential in a paragraph of concession -- you need to end that paragraph with a sentence or two suggesting that this reason for holding an alternative point of view is ultimately wrong: insignificant or an exception to the rule. In other words, find some means to undermine this concession and return your reader to your point of view at the end of your paragraph of concession.

Example:

Suppose that your thesis is something like: Charlemagne can hardly be considered as one of the great emperors of European history.

Your reasons for holding this thesis, developed into topic sentences, might include:

Charlemagne's empire fell apart within fifty years of his death, which hardly befits a truly great emperor.

Even at the height of his powers, Charlemagne did not seem to exercise much control over the noblemen of his empire.

Nor did Charlemagne extend his control to the churchmen of his empire, as other medieval emperors had.

And so on.

Your paragraph of concession would have to concede that in at least some regards, Charlemagne should be considered as a great emperor. It could go something like this:

Some have argued that Charlemagne was the greatest of European emperors. After all, most European emperors who followed after him borrowed ideas or images from his reign. The Holy Roman Emperors were always crowned at Rome, as he had been. The kings of eastern Europe mostly adopted a version of his name, karoly, as their title. And when Hitler founded his Nazi domination of Europe, he called it the Third Reich or Empire, the first having been that of Charlemagne. Still, these later rulers based these ideas and images on a misperception of Charlemagne's reign. In the end, the myth of Charlemagne proved much more durable than the fact of his empire.

Note how I begin this paragraph, "Some have argued . . ." and then leading into an alternative thesis. This different kind of opening shows my readers that it is not like my other paragraphs, and it is not something that I am arguing myself. You could start this paragraph in a number of ways: "It could be argued . . ." or "Some have suggested that . . . " or "It might be possible to consider that . . . " or anything that lets your reader know that this is not your own point of view.

Then I follow up this sentence with what I consider to be the main reason for someone to hold that alternative point of view: "most European emperors who followed after him borrowed ideas or images from his reign." I follow that with, in this case, three examples to support this reason: 1) his influence on the Holy Roman Emperors, 2) his influence on eastern European monarchs, and 3) his influence on the Nazis.

But I end the paragraph by clearly dismissing the importance of this alternative thesis. Note that I begin this sentence undermining the different point of view with the word "Still, . . . ". That lets my reader know that I am changing perspectives. Or you could begin this part of the paragraph with "Nonetheless, . . ." or "However, . . ." or something like that. And both of the last two sentences of the paragraph above return the reader to my own point of view.

Where should the paragraph of concession be situated in the essay?

In most cases, it is best to place this paragraph of concession after you have taken the reader through all of the points in your favor, when you are likeliest to have him or her already agreeing with you, and undercutting your opponent's arguments is just one more reason to agree with you more wholeheartedly. In most cases, therefore, it is best to place this paragraph of concession just before your conclusion, as the second-to-last paragraph.

In some cases, though, it is best to place this paragraph of concession immediately after your introduction, in the second paragraph of the whole essay. Mostly this makes sense if you think that your reader is likely to hold a point of view different from the one you will be arguing. This can happen, for example, if you are arguing something that seems to run counter to what is commonly believed (for example, that Charlemagne was a great European emperor). In such cases, it often works best to undermine that common point of view before you begin your own reasons for holding a minority opinion.

There is flexibility in the placement of this paragraph, then, but not so much that it would seem a good idea to place it in the middle of the essay, after you have addressed some of the reasons for your thesis but not others. If you feel that the paragraph of concession works particularly well after one of the reasons you provide for your thesis, then make that the last reason you give in support of your thesis.

A valid argument could be made for not including a paragraph of concession at all. When you think about it, the whole point of your essay is to persuade your reader of your point of view, so it may not be a good idea to provide them with reasons or examples for believing something else instead. But honesty to history demands that some concession to historical facts be made, when those facts might be known or discovered by your reader, who might dismiss the whole of your argument by saying that you were biased or uninformed. Almost always, then, this paragraph of concession is a good idea.

This last paragraph I wrote is itself a paragraph of concession, you'll note. See how well it works to persuade the reader of your point of view?