Adding a Concession Without Losing the Thesis
A student drafts a paragraph arguing that a city should extend its bike-lane network. The key sentence reads: "Extending the bike lanes will reduce traffic congestion downtown and make streets safer for cyclists." The teacher asks the student to add one sentence acknowledging a real drawback-some street parking will be removed-without weakening the overall argument. The student's first attempt reads: "However, extending the bike lanes will remove some street parking, which shows that the plan is not actually a good idea." The paragraph must still end by supporting the extension, and the new sentence must logically connect to the sentence before it. The student has room for exactly one added sentence.
1. Why does the student's first attempt fail as a concession, and what does a concession sentence need to do here?
Read the worked answer
The first attempt abandons the thesis rather than conceding a point: "which shows that the plan is not actually a good idea" contradicts the paragraph's goal. A concession should acknowledge a genuine cost while keeping the main claim intact. It typically uses a transition like although, granted, or admittedly to signal a limited drawback, then returns to the argument. The problem is not the word however-it is that the clause's conclusion reverses the paragraph's position. A concession must be subordinate to the thesis, not a replacement for it.
2. Write the single concession sentence the student should insert, and explain how it stays connected to the preceding sentence.
Read the worked answer
A workable sentence: "Granted, some street parking would be lost, but the reduction in congestion and the added safety for cyclists outweigh that cost."
Why it works:
- Signals concession: Granted marks the drawback as acknowledged, not hidden.
- Keeps the thesis: the but clause restates the benefit, so the paragraph still supports extension.
- Stays connected: it picks up the parking issue as a cost to be weighed rather than a new topic, and the closing benefit echoes the original claim, giving the paragraph a clear through-line.