Tegenargumentvraag
A question about an objection in the text: what exactly is objected, by whom, against what — and how the writer answers it.
7 of our B2 reading items. The stem reads Wat werpen critici tegen?, Welk tegenargument geven de voorstanders? or Hoe reageert de auteur op het bezwaar …? Where an argumentatie question asks what a sentence does in the argument, this one asks for the content of one specific objection, or for the writer's exact answer to it. The difficulty is bookkeeping: a B2 paragraph holds a position, an objection to it, often an objection to the objection, and a reply — and every one of them turns up as an option.
How the exam tests this
Lezen for Programma II: about 35–36 multiple-choice questions over roughly 6 texts in 100 minutes, computer-marked. Tegenargument options are cut from the same paragraph. One gives the position the objection is aimed at; one gives the objection of the other camp; one gives the writer's reply when the question asked for the objection (or the reverse); and on Hoe reageert de auteur? items, the wrong ones are the extreme reactions — verwerpt het als onzin, neemt het volledig over, negeert het. The writer at this level almost always grants something and then limits it.
What is wrong with this sentence?
De overheid speelt terecht in op onze denkfouten en onze luiheid
Most candidates write it exactly like this and lose the mark without knowing why.
The rest of this lesson
The rule, the worked examples, the exceptions and what to do in the exam room open with Mastery, together with every other lesson for this exam.
See plans