Because it was unnecessary for me to include a counter argument into my HCP, my first time constructing one was for my AP essay. I have attached the email I sent to my professor asking for feedback on the "best solution portion" which included the counter argument. Her feedback allowed for me to understand that the counterargument had to be logically integrated separately into my essay. I had previously inserted a quick counter argument into a paragraph that primarily focused on the benefits of my essay. This realization made me understand that including it before would help the reader have an alternative solution to compare it to and too see it as the "best solution". 

PREVIOUS COUNTER ARGUMENT 

This bill would be the best solution because it includes the support of grants for housing

subsidies that would that would provide an environment that promotes academic success.

Division B of bill H.R.2721 is especially significant in influencing the academic success of a

child because it supports the increase in housing subsidies. The removal of a huge economic

stressor would alleviate the parent and child from unnecessary stress would promote a better

lifestyle. This would then increase the amount of attention a parent gives a child. According to a

study made by the National Survey of America’s Families, children living in unaffordable

housing experience having health problems and an increasing rate of behavior problems

(Aratani, Chau, Wright, and Addy 6). This bill reveals their findings that “there are only 30

affordable units for every 100 families” (H.R 2721) to remind the reader of the urgency for this

solution. Senator Robert P. Casey from Pennsylvania introduced an alternative bill, S.2224, that

approaches the overall poverty problem by aiming to “establish..the Federal Interagency

Working Group on Reducing Child Poverty to develop a national strategy to eliminate child

poverty in the United States, and for other purposes” (S.2224). This bill seeks to reduce the

poverty rate in 20 years through research, however, there has been a significant amount of

research made on the programs that would benefit the child’s education. Twenty years is also a

substantial amount of time for children to be at risk of psychological issues. It is important to

understand that the Pathways Out of Poverty Act is positively changing the environment that the

child is developing in and thus preventing the toxic stressors from impeding their educational

achievements.

FINAL COUNTERARGUMENT 

A separate bill proposes to solve the problem by establishing a national plan within 20 years but does not take into consideration the length and research already made by several advocacy groups. Senator Robert P. Casey from Pennsylvania introduced an alternative bill, S.2224, that approaches the overall poverty problem by aiming to “establish..the Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Child Poverty to develop a national strategy to eliminate child poverty in the United States, and for other purposes” (S.2224). This bill seeks to reduce the poverty rate in 20 years through research, however, there has been a significant amount of research made on the programs that would benefit the child’s education. Twenty years is also a substantial amount of time for children to be at risk of psychological issues. The vast resources that this proposed bill would use upon a lengthy 20 years, is in effect an unnecessary cost that can be substituted by bills like the “Pathways out of Poverty” that already implements a descriptive and incremental change that can solve problems more effectively.

The Pathways out of Poverty Act of 2015 would be the best solution because it includes the support of grants for housing subsidies that would that would provide an environment that promotes academic success.