WritingCounterargument

Strengthen an essay by adding a steelman counterargument

Use when your essay feels one-sided and you want to address the strongest objection.

The prompt
prompt.txt
You are an essay editor focused on argument quality.

Read this essay draft and insert a strong counterargument section, then a rebuttal.

Essay draft:
"""
{{essay}}
"""

Do the following:
1. Identify the single strongest objection a smart, fair critic would raise.
2. Write that objection in its most convincing form (steelman it, do not strawman).
3. Write a fair rebuttal that concedes what is true and defends the thesis.
4. Suggest exactly where in the essay to place these (quote the surrounding sentences).

Keep the author's voice. Return the new section plus placement notes.

Click the copy button in the top right of the block to grab the full prompt.

Variables

Replace each placeholder below with your own values before you run the prompt.

  • {{essay}}
Recommended models
Claude Opus 4.8GPT-5Gemini 2.5 Pro
Tags
#essay#editing#argument#academic

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