Level 5 — Advanced · Technical & Evidence-Based Writing
Task 82: Tracking a Concept's Meaning
Write a paragraph that names, precisely, how a single word's meaning expanded, narrowed, or was reframed across a short passage — the writing mirror of Lesson 82's concept-tracking skill.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this task, you should be able to:
- Name the specific type of meaning change a concept undergoes: expansion, narrowing, refinement, or reframing
- Cite the exact words in a passage that signal the change, not just assert that a change happened
- Distinguish a concept changing from a new synonym simply being introduced for the same thing
Introduction
Lesson 82 taught you to follow a single concept's identity as its meaning expands, narrows, or gets reframed across a book — and to notice the signal phrases ("more precisely," "not X but Y") that mark the exact moment it happens. This task asks you to write that tracking down cleanly, citing the evidence rather than just asserting a change occurred.
The Rule, for Writing
Core Concept
A concept-tracking paragraph does three things: names the concept, states what kind of change happened (expansion, narrowing, refinement, or reframing), and quotes or closely paraphrases the exact words that mark the shift. Skip the third part and the claim is just an assertion.
Example
"Efficiency first meant 'lower cost per container' in the opening chapter, but by chapter three the author narrows it: 'efficiency, more precisely, means lower cost per container without increasing turnaround time' — the same word, a stricter definition." Notice the quoted phrase is doing the proving.
Your Turn
Your Turn
A report first defines "risk" as "the chance a shipment is delayed." Two paragraphs later it adds: "risk, more precisely, is the chance a shipment is delayed and the delay causes a missed contractual deadline — a delay with no financial consequence is not, in this report's sense, a risk." Write a paragraph naming what type of change this is (expansion, narrowing, refinement, or reframing) and quoting the exact words that mark it.
Vocabulary in Context
narrowverbneutral
to make a concept's meaning stricter or more limited than before (সংকুচিত করা)
Often with narrow the definition, narrow the meaning, narrow down
“The author narrows 'delay' to mean lateness beyond two hours.”
boundarynounformal
what a concept includes and excludes (সীমা)
Often with conceptual boundary, clear boundary, boundary of
“The boundary of 'risk' widens in the second chapter.”
Model Answer
Show a model answer
The concept "risk" is narrowed, not reframed — its core meaning (a chance of delay) survives, but its boundary shrinks. The signal is "more precisely," followed by an added condition: the delay must also cause a missed contractual deadline. The report is explicit about what falls outside the boundary now: "a delay with no financial consequence is not... a risk." A reader who kept the chapter-one definition would wrongly count harmless delays as risks the report no longer counts.
Self-Check
Self-Check
- Did you correctly identify narrowing, not expansion or reframing?
- Did you quote or closely paraphrase the exact signal phrase?
- Did you explain what the narrower boundary now excludes?
- Did you avoid simply saying "the meaning changed" without evidence?
Next: Writing 83 — Tracking a Claim's Evolution: writing a paragraph that tracks what changed about a claim, and whether that change is refinement or contradiction.