Formulating

Assertion and
Counterclaim
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What is an Assertion?
An assertion is a
statement used to
make a declaration or
to express a strong
belief on a particular
topic, often without
evidence.
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 Forming
Assertions
 Before Writing
Before writing an assertion in
literature, the author
must comprehensively read or watch
the literary work. He must take down
the part he is for, or he is opposed to,
followed by his explanation of it. It is
also best to collect evidence from the
same or other literary authors that
have the same assertion as with the
writer.
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  The purpose of writing an
assertion is for the writer
to convey directly an idea
or feeling and to convince
the reader to accept the
writer’s interpretation of a
particular literary work.

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 • Different types of assertion can be
used in formal or informal writing.

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Basic Assertion,
Emphatic Assertion 7

and I-Language Assertion.

Basic Assertion
 Basic Assertion is a statement
used to express the writer's
feelings, beliefs, and opinions
directly.
 This type of assertion is usually used
in writing formal papers like thesis
and dissertation
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 Basic Assertion

•“I wish I could have expressed this idea

earlier, because now someone else has
taken the credit.”
•“Excuse me, first I want to finish my work,
then I shall go with you.”

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Emphatic Assertion
 Emphatic Assertion is a
statement used to express
empathy or on how a person
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understands the feelings and
emotions of the literary author.

 This can be used on writing a

formal or informal paper.
Emphatic Assertion

It is usually composed of two parts:

1) the first part is the statement
that recognizes the situation
or even the feelings of the 11

characters on the text being

read followed by
2) the second statement where
the writer states his stand
about the situation.
Emphatic Assertion

•“I understand you are busy, and me too, but it is difficult

for me to finish this project on my own. So, I want you to
help me complete this project.” 12

•“I know this is making you angry and frustrated because

you have not gotten a response yet. But I can help you by
giving you an estimate of how long it might take.”
▹ I - Language Assertion
• I - Language Assertion is a statement used
to express the feeling and preference of the
writer.

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▹ I - Language Assertion
• It is called I-Language because it focuses on
the writer and is using the pronoun ‘I’.
• This type of assertion is recommended if the
author wants to express negative feelings
and opinion.
• This is best used in writing a review or
reflection paper.
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It is composed of three parts.
 The first part contains the accurate information
from literary work, especially on the topic the
writer disagrees with (When you..)
 The second part includes the effect or feeling
of the writer towards the topic (It affects/I
feel...).
 The last part includes the preference or
recommendation of the writer (Therefore, I
prefer/I want...).
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Description of behavior: "When you __________ ,"
How it affects you life: "It affects __________ ,"
Describe your feelings: "and I feel __________ ;"
Describe your desire: "Therefore, I would like __________ ."

Example: "When you shout the effect is I am

unable to work with you and I feel angry.
Therefore, I would like for you to stop shouting
and tell me what you want."

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I - Language Assertion

•“When you speak harshly, I cannot work with

you because I feel annoyed. Therefore, I
want you to speak nicely and then assign me
a task.”
•“When I don’t get enough sleep, it affects my
nerves and I feel irritated. Therefore, I try to
go to bed earlier.”
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Formulating
Counterclaim

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 What a Counterclaim Is?
When you make evaluative statements that express how you
oppose with claims in a text, you are formulating
counterclaims.
▹ Counterclaims are statements that oppose the claims of
the writer in the text.
▹ This counterclaim denies the validity of claim.
▹ It‘s important to address counterclaims in your writing.
▹ Counterclaims are also provable and supportable by
reasons and evidence.

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 “
In formulating
assertions and
counterclaims about a
text, it is important that
you support your
statements with textual
evidence.

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Textual Evidence
 is an information gathered
from the text that supports
your assertion or 21

counterclaim about the text.

In expressing your judgement about the text,
1. First, state your idea about the text.
2. To determine evidence from the text, look for clues and
keywords that support your idea about the text.
3. Quote or paraphrase the part of the text that helped you
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come up with your idea.
4. Use quotation marks to quote a part of the text. If it is
from a book, indicate the page number at the end of your
sentence.
5. Lastly, express how the quote supports your idea.
Types of Textual Evidence

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• Paraphrasing
• is restating the text in your own words.

• Summarizing
• is restating the text in a shorter way using your
own words.

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• Referencing
• is mentioning a specific section of the text.

• Quoting
• is stating a part of a text in the exact way it was
written.

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Determining Textual
Evidence
▹ Evidence is defined
as the details given 26

by the author to
support his / her
claim.
Counterclaims
 are claims made to rebut a previous
claim.
 They provide a contrasting
perspective to the main argument. 27

Evidence
 is defined as the details given by
the author to support his / her
claim.
Tips
There are two (2) factors that must be considered before
formulating assertion.
 First is to determine the type of paper you are going to write
– and can either be formal or informal paper.
 Second is to determine the type of literary work you are going
to examine including novel, poem, journal article or theatre
play.
• It is best to include facts and evidence after every assertion.
This is done to make a strong stand on every claimed
assertion.
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