Question

(1) The driving age should be increased to nineteen years old nationwide to make the roads safer for everyone. (2) This would decrease the number of people who lose their lives in car accidents. (3) Drivers ages sixteen to nineteen are almost three times more likely than drivers age twenty or older to be in a fatal crash. (4) That being said, there may be other ways to decrease the number of accidents involving teen drivers, such as offering more rigorous driver’s education classes and issuing tougher seat belt laws. Which sentence is the counterclaim? sentence 1 sentence 2 sentence 3 sentence 4

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is indeed number (4) That being said, there may be other ways to decrease the number of accidents involving teen drivers, such as offering more rigorous driver’s education classes and issuing tougher seat belt laws.

Explanation:

To find a counterclaim, we should always take a look at the thesis statement first. In the excerpt we are studying here, the claim is that, if the driving age is increased to nineteen years old, fewer people would lose their lives in accidents. The author provides evidence to defend that claim in the lines that follow it.

In sentence 4, however, the author shows us a different perspective, one that contradicts the idea expressed in the claim. He/she lets us know that there may be other ways to achieve the same result other than increasing the driving age. That is a counterclaim, a statement that opposes the thesis one. Authors usually employ counterclaims to show that they have taken the opposing side's point of view into consideration. But then they usually move on to discredit it partially or entirely.

Answer 2

(4) That being said, there may be other ways to decrease the number of accidents involving teen drivers, such as offering more rigorous driver’s education classes and issuing tougher seat belt laws.