Level 5 — Advanced · Structural & Academic Writing
Task 47: Labeling a Paragraph's Argument
Write a five-sentence paragraph where every sentence has a distinct, labeled job — context, claim, evidence, qualification, conclusion — the writer's-side mirror of Lesson 47's reading question.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this task, you should be able to:
- Write five sentences that each perform a distinct role in a paragraph's argument
- Label each sentence's job explicitly after writing it
- Avoid writing two sentences that do the same job, which reads as repetition rather than progress
Introduction
Lesson 47 taught you to ask, for every sentence in a paragraph, "why is the author telling me this here?" — context, claim, evidence, qualification, or conclusion. This task asks you to build a paragraph the same way an author does: write each sentence knowing exactly what job it's doing, so a reader asking that same question gets a clear answer every time.
The Rule, for Writing
Core Concept
A well-built paragraph rarely repeats a job. One sentence sets up context. One states the claim. One gives evidence for it. One qualifies or limits it. One concludes. Five sentences, five different jobs — if two sentences are doing the same job, one of them is probably unnecessary.
Example
"Container traffic at the port has grown every year since 2019. [context] This growth is straining the current yard capacity. [claim] Average dwell time for containers rose from 3 days to 5 days last year alone. [evidence] The increase is smaller at the new automated terminal, which suggests capacity, not demand, is the real bottleneck. [qualification] Expanding yard space should therefore be the priority over attracting more traffic. [conclusion]"
Your Turn
Your Turn
Write a five-sentence paragraph about a topic you know well. Give each sentence one job: context, claim, evidence, qualification, conclusion — in that order. After each sentence, write its job in square brackets, the way the example above does.
Vocabulary in Context
qualificationnounformal
a statement that limits or adjusts a claim so it isn't overstated (শর্তসাপেক্ষ মন্তব্য)
Often with add a qualification, important qualification, qualification of
“A short qualification limits the claim to peak season.”
bottlenecknounneutral
the point in a process that limits the speed of the whole system (সংকীর্ণ বাধা)
Often with a bottleneck in, cause a bottleneck, remove a bottleneck
“The single scanner is the bottleneck limiting gate speed.”
Model Answer
Show a model answer
Employee turnover at the company has risen steadily since last year. [context] This is starting to hurt the quality of customer service. [claim] New hires now leave within six months on average, down from eighteen months two years ago. [evidence] The drop is smallest in the department with the strongest onboarding program, suggesting training quality matters more than pay alone. [qualification] Improving onboarding across every department should be the company's first priority. [conclusion]
Self-Check
Self-Check
- Does each sentence genuinely do a different job, or do two sentences repeat the same one?
- Is your claim sentence a real claim (arguable), not just another fact?
- Does your qualification actually limit or complicate the claim, rather than just restating it?
- Does your conclusion follow logically from the evidence and qualification above it?
Next: Writing 48 — Outlining a Chapter Before You Write It: previewing a structure's headings and their job before filling in the content, the writer's-side mirror of chapter-level reading.