This set covers the five skills in the argument structure module: precise claims, evidence and explanation, order, qualified conclusions and revision. Questions run from easier to harder. Write your own answer before you open the worked one.
The examples and figures are invented for practice. Many answers are possible, so compare your reasoning, not your wording.
Questions
1. Precise or vague? Which is the more precise claim: (a) “Sleep matters.” (b) “Teenagers who sleep fewer than seven hours concentrate less well in morning lessons.”
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(b). It names a group, a condition and an outcome, and someone could argue against it. (a) is too wide to defend in a paragraph.
2. Narrow it. Turn “Cities have too much traffic” into a claim you could defend in one paragraph.
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Example: Cities should charge drivers to enter the centre at peak hours, because the charge cuts congestion where it is worst. It adds a measure, a time and a reason. Other versions can work.
3. Two claims in one. “Libraries should open later, and they should also buy more e-books.” What should the writer do?
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These are two claims. Give each its own paragraph, or choose the one the essay needs most. A single paragraph cannot prove both properly.
4. Evidence or explanation? Label each: (a) “Attendance rose from 40 to 50 students.” (b) “The rise suggests evening sessions suit students who work after school.”
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(a) is evidence. (b) is explanation, because it says what the change means for the claim.
5. Percentage evidence. In a survey (invented) of 60 students, 45 said they revise better with music off. Write the evidence sentence with the percentage, then a sentence of explanation for the claim “Quiet study rooms should be available in school.”
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45 ÷ 60 = 0.75, so 75%.
Evidence: In a survey of 60 students, 45 (75%) said they revise better without music.
Explanation: This suggests that three in four students need a low-noise setting, so a room without sound is a service for most of them and not a luxury.
6. Spot the restating. “Ten of the twelve teachers agreed. This shows that most teachers agree.” Why is the second sentence weak?
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It restates the number in words. It does not say why the agreement matters for the writer’s claim. Replace it with reasoning, for example that strong agreement among those who run lessons gives the proposal practical credibility.
7. Order the plan. Claims: (A) a school garden teaches students where food comes from. (B) Gardens need land and staff time. (C) Students who grow food are more willing to eat vegetables. Order these for an argument that schools should have gardens, and say what pattern you used.
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A sound order: A, C, B. Pattern: what it teaches, then the effect, then the objection answered. Another order is fine if you can justify it. The cost paragraph should come after the benefits are established and be followed by an answer.
8. Qualify the ending. Rewrite: “Homework should never be set, because it is always harmful.”
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Example: Homework should be limited in the early years of secondary school, provided that any task set has a clear purpose. It keeps a position, removes “never” and “always”, and adds a condition.
9. What is wrong? “Some canteens now sell fruit. So schools clearly want students to eat less sugar. Therefore canteens should ban sweets.” Which part of the reasoning fails?
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The evidence (fruit on sale) does not show a wish to reduce sugar, and the last sentence jumps to a ban. The “so” and “therefore” cover gaps. The writer needs evidence about sugar itself and an explanation of why a ban, not another measure, follows.
10. Revise the paragraph. Reading fiction improves students’ empathy. Novels are cheap at second-hand shops. Many libraries lend them free. So fiction helps students feel for others. Revise it by the route you choose, and say which route.
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The examples are about cost, not empathy.
Route A (change claim): Reading fiction is an affordable habit. Second-hand shops sell novels cheaply and libraries lend them free, so cost need not stop a student from reading for pleasure.
Route B (change examples): Reading fiction improves students’ empathy, because a novel puts the reader inside another person’s choices. A student who follows a character through a hard decision has to imagine a view that is not their own, and repeating this builds the habit of doing so in real life.
If you got these wrong
| What went wrong | Go to |
|---|---|
| Claims too wide, or two claims at once (1, 2, 3) | Build a paragraph around a precise claim |
| Numbers or examples with no reasoning (4, 5, 6) | Link evidence and explanation |
| Plan felt like a list (7) | Order arguments for a coherent progression |
| Ending too bold or too timid (8) | Write a qualified conclusion |
| “So” or “therefore” hiding a gap; mismatched examples (9, 10) | Revise a paragraph whose examples do not support its point |
Record each error in the mistake log and retest queue, then rewrite a fresh version on a new topic. The summary selection and paraphrase studio and writing revision compare view support further practice.
If the same error returns after a few tries, online one-to-one English First Language tuition lets a teacher read your paragraphs with you and set the next task.