The Opinion Paragraph: Stance, Support, Concession
B1 · Writing Lab · about 30 minutes
1 · Learn
At B1 your opinions grow up. The structure is: stance → reason 1 (developed) → reason 2 (developed) → concession (“Admittedly, …”) → conclusion that answers the concession. The concession is the new move: naming the strongest point of the other side — and showing why your stance survives it — is what separates persuasion from shouting.
Develop each reason with the mini-chain: claim → explanation → example. A reason without an example is a promise; with an example, it is proof.
2 · See an Example
Should Homework Be Abolished?
Homework for young children should be abolished, because it steals the two things childhood is for: play and family time. After six hours at school, a nine-year-old who does another hour of worksheets learns mostly to hate learning. In Finland, where primary schools assign almost no homework, children still read better than almost anyone — proof that rest is not the enemy of results. Admittedly, some practice helps older students remember facts. But for young children, the costs are real and the benefits are imaginary. Let them play; the worksheets can wait.
3 · Analyze the Example
- Stance with a reason built in. “Should be abolished, because…” — the position and its core argument arrive in the first sentence.
- Developed reason. Claim (steals play and family time) → explanation (an hour of worksheets teaches hatred of learning).
- Evidence example. Finland is the perfect witness: no homework, top reading results. One real case beats ten opinions.
- Concession + answer. “Admittedly, some practice helps OLDER students” — the concession is granted, then fenced off from the claim (young children).
Useful Vocabulary
They abolished the old rule.
Admittedly, cars are convenient.
Her stance is clear from line one.
The benefits are imaginary.
He finished the worksheet quickly.
Useful Expressions
- … should be abolished / introduced / banned.
- After all, …
- Admittedly, …
- But for … , the costs are real.
- Let them …; the … can wait.
Common Mistakes
✗ I am for homework and against homework. Both sides have points. It depends. In conclusion, everyone has an opinion.
✓ Homework should be limited, not abolished: twenty minutes of reading helps children remember, but hours of worksheets only exhaust them.
Sitting on the fence is not balance. Take a stance, concede ONE point, and hold your line.
✗ Homework is bad because it is bad and students hate it because it is terrible.
✓ Homework hurts young students because it replaces sleep and play with stress; a tired child learns less the next day, not more.
Circles are not reasons. Give the mechanism: how exactly does it hurt?
✗ Admittedly, homework is very good and useful and helps everyone, but I am against it.
✓ Admittedly, a little practice helps older students. But for young children, the costs are real.
A concession should grant a SMALL point, not surrender your whole argument.
4 · Guided Practice
Write a concession for this stance: “School uniforms are a good idea.”
See a model answer
Example: “Admittedly, uniforms limit how students express themselves. But they also erase the daily competition of brands, and that freedom matters more.”
Develop the reason with an example: “City life is stressful because everything is fast.”
See a model answer
Example: “For example, my uncle spends two hours a day in traffic — two hours he never gets back.”
Spot the circle: “Zoos are cruel because keeping animals in cages is cruel.” Rewrite with a mechanism.
See a model answer
“Zoos can be cruel because wide-roaming animals pace the same small circle all day, showing clear signs of stress.”
5 · Write — Your Task
✍️ Write an opinion paragraph on a real debate (homework, school uniforms, smartphones in class, zoos, exams): state your stance in the first sentence, develop two reasons with one concrete example, concede the other side's strongest point in one sentence, and answer it in your conclusion.
Goal: 1 paragraph, 9–11 sentences · Length: 150–190 words
- Pick a side you can defend with an example, not just a feeling.
- Concede small and specific — then fence it off (But for… / However, that applies to…).
- Your conclusion should answer the concession, not repeat your first sentence.
6 · Check — Self-Check
Work through your checklist honestly, then run the Self-Check. It counts words and sentences and spots mechanical points — it does not grade your English. You are the editor.
Read a model answer for the task
Smartphones should be banned during school hours, because attention is the whole currency of learning. A phone on the desk divides every lesson in two: even face-down, it whispers. Studies of schools that introduced bans show calmer classrooms and better results, especially for the weakest students, who can least afford distractions. Admittedly, phones are useful tools — for research, translation, and emergencies. But all of that can live in a school bag, switched off, until the bell. The lesson is short; let it belong to the teacher.
7 · Improve & Rewrite
Weak version — rewrite it in your notebook first, then compare:
Cars in cities are good and bad. Some people like cars. Other people don't. There are advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion it depends on the person.
See an improved version
Cities should charge cars for entering the center, because the current system gives drivers a free gift paid for by everyone else's lungs and time. One bus carries fifty people in the road space of three cars, yet the cars are never asked to pay for the congestion they cause. Admittedly, some workers genuinely need to drive. A fair charge can exempt them — but free-for-all driving is a subsidy the city can no longer afford.
Quick Quiz
Keep going
📘 Grammar deep-dive: Conditionals 0, 1 & 2: if Sentences🌱 Vocabulary Builder: the B1 Learning Goals set🎓 TOEFL Writing: the exam version of this skill🎤 Speaking Studio: say this lesson out loud← Previous lesson · B1 — all lessons · Next: Advantages and Disadvantages: Balanced Writing →
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