Level 4 — Upper Intermediate · Argument Writing
Task 34: Writing a Concession-Then-Rebuttal Passage With Purpose
Write a short passage using the concession-then-rebuttal structure, then name the persuasive purpose your own word choices were built to serve — the writing side of Lesson 34's rhetorical structure skills.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this task, you should be able to:
- Build a passage using the concession-then-rebuttal rhetorical structure, not just a plain list of points
- Choose word choice deliberately to serve a stated persuasive purpose, rather than by accident
- Separate rhetorical force from evidential strength when explaining a passage's own persuasive choices
Introduction
Lesson 34 taught you to spot the rhetorical structures underneath an argument's surface — problem-solution, claim-support- implication, concession-then-rebuttal — and to read an author's purpose from their choices. This task asks you to build one of those structures yourself, on purpose, and then explain the persuasive choices you made.
The Rule, for Writing
Core Concept
Build your passage as concession-then-rebuttal: open by fairly stating the other side's real strength (the concession), then pivot with "however" or "but" into your stronger, more confident point (the rebuttal) — persuasive writing puts the stronger idea last, where it's remembered. Choose your evaluative word choice deliberately: a word like "struggles" reads more critically than "faces challenges," even when describing the same fact. Then, separately, name your purpose (to persuade, to recommend, to inform) and point to one specific word choice that served it.
Example
Passage: "Critics fairly note that automated sorting systems cost more upfront than hiring extra staff. However, the systems pay for themselves within a year through fewer misrouted packages and lower long-term labor costs." Purpose note: the purpose is to recommend automated sorting; the word "fairly" in the concession signals respect for the opposing view before the rebuttal claims the stronger ground.
Your Turn
Your Turn
Write a short passage using the concession-then-rebuttal structure on a real or plausible topic (a tool, a policy, a method) you have an opinion about. Fairly state the other side's real strength, then pivot with "however" or "but" into your stronger point. Add a final sentence naming your purpose (to persuade, to recommend, to inform) and pointing to one specific word choice in your passage that served that purpose.
Vocabulary in Context
concessionnounformal
a fair statement of the opposing side's real strength, placed before the writer's own stronger point (স্বীকৃতি)
Often with make a concession, fair concession, concession before the rebuttal
“The writer's concession, that the pilot was small, makes the rebuttal credible.”
loaded languagenoun phraseneutral
word choice that carries an evaluative charge beyond the plain fact being described (পক্ষপাতদুষ্ট ভাষা)
Often with avoid loaded language, loaded language such as, use loaded language
“Calling the plan 'reckless' is loaded language; 'unapproved' is neutral.”
Model Answer
Show a model answer
Critics fairly note that switching a whole terminal to electronic bills of lading requires retraining every clerk who currently handles paper documents by hand. However, the switch pays for itself within months, since electronic records cut document-processing errors that once delayed vessel departures by hours. My purpose here was to recommend the switch, and the word "fairly" in my opening sentence was chosen deliberately — it signals respect for the retraining concern before the rebuttal claims the stronger ground.
Self-Check
Self-Check
- Does your passage follow concession-then-rebuttal, with the stronger point placed last?
- Is your concession genuinely fair, not a weak point you immediately dismiss?
- Does your final sentence point to one specific word choice, not just a vague claim of persuasive intent?
- Did you write this directly in English, without translating from Bangla first?
Next: Writing 35 — Tone, Attitude, Bias & Objectivity: writing the same fact in two different tones to show how attitude and evidence are genuinely separate things.