Lesson on Answering Objections
For Nonfiction
Answering the Other Side
Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” · Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience”
Lessons in Nonfiction
An argument is only as strong as its answer to the other side. King takes his critics’ words seriously and answers each charge in turn; Thoreau begins with an idea his readers accept and follows it somewhere they did not expect.
Questions on the Classic Readings
Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
- King’s critics called the demonstrations “unwise and untimely.” How does he treat them?
- King writes that “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” How does he answer the charge of bad timing?
Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience”
- Thoreau begins with the motto “That government is best which governs least.” Where does he take it next?
- How does Thoreau use his night in jail as part of the argument?
Activities
These draw on the classic readings on this page.
- State it fairly. Choose an opinion you hold and write the strongest paragraph you can for the opposing view. Then write a paragraph answering it.
- From a motto. Begin a short essay with a common saying, and in the next paragraph push it one step further than most readers would go.
—Silver Current Press