Samples of the Objection/Concession/Rebuttal Process

Samples of the Objection/Concession/Rebuttal Process using the argument: "High schools should prohibit on-campus military recruiting."

(Keep in mind that you are not defending a moral stance or taking a
moral position on an issue. We’re treating moral stances as beliefs, not facts.)

Touchstone for what the objection process looks like or is doing, this is it (key for your next assignment, Ancillary 3):

The whole process works a little like this: Your point of view, while it isn’t mine, is valid (in areas A, B, and/or C). I concede that X,Y, and/or Z. However, ultimately, my argument is stronger/better, etc. because of D.

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Sample process using Argument X:
Topic: Military Recruiting on High-School Campuses
Argument: High schools should prohibit on-campus military recruiting.
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Reasoning for the thesis: Students are young, impressionable, and may not be ready to make this kind of decision at this stage in their life. Representatives could/might exploit the current economic crisis in order to convince students that joining is financially advantageous for them; this process is manipulative and may not be completely accurate. Students don’t need any more distraction from their studies than they already have; selling goods, services, and even opportunities on campus is problematic in a number of ways.
Thus the thesis looks like this:

Thesis: "High schools should prohibit on-campus military recruiting. Students are young, impressionable, and may not be ready to make this kind of decision at this stage in their life. Representatives could/might exploit the current economic crisis in order to convince students that joining is financially advantageous for them; this process is manipulative and may not be completely accurate. Students don’t need any more distraction from their studies than they already have; selling goods, services, and even opportunities on campus is problematic in a number of ways."

Objections:

1. If high-school students are not offered this opportunity in high school, it’s more likely they will not make a decision about their future as quickly as those who had it; in this way, they’ll get started (with the military, with college, with both) later than they could have.
2. Who’s to say what’s a distraction? Colleges are encouraged to recruit at high-school campuses, and few people object to this process. Isn’t it rather elitist or limiting to imply that college is the only legitimate option for graduating seniors?
3.Recruiting is not forcing. No one’s hands are tied behind their back. Students, high-school or otherwise, have the OPTION of joining, and recruiters have the RIGHT to make the option look good by way of whatever methods they use.

Concessions:

1. Certainly, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to allow one group with one worldview to come to campus but prohibit another that offers an alternative. Doing so flies in the face of one of the major goals of institutionalized education, which is to offer students multiple, even conflicting points of view and educate them so they can make informed choices.
2. Rebuttal: However, college-recruitment is still in line with educational goals, which are the goals any educational institution should be facilitating. The military is not an educational enterprise (at least in the traditional sense) and thus better kept off high-school campuses.