Writing an Argument Under a Word Limit
A writing task asks students to argue for or against banning mobile phones in school corridors. The response must be 250-300 words in Chinese, must include at least one counterargument, and must end with a recommendation to the principal. One student drafts 420 words. The draft opens with a long personal story about losing a phone, gives three reasons against banning, mentions the counterargument in a single clause ("some say phones are distracting"), and closes with "so I think we should not ban them." The student asks whether to cut the story or the reasons to reach the limit.
1. Advise the student on what to cut and what to keep, and justify the choice against the task requirements.
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The task sets three requirements: a position, a counterargument, and a recommendation. The draft's weakest element is the counterargument, which is named but not engaged; the closing is also too vague to count as a recommendation. The personal story consumes space without advancing the argument, so it is the right thing to cut first. The student should keep the three reasons but compress them, then spend the recovered space developing the counterargument: state it fairly, concede what is true in it, and explain why the position still holds. The ending must address the principal directly with a concrete proposal, not a general opinion. Cutting the story alone may not reach 250-300 words, so the student should also tighten repeated reasons. The judgement is to protect the required moves and sacrifice the optional narrative, rather than cutting whichever part is easiest to delete.
2. The student worries that engaging the counterargument will weaken the case. Respond to this concern with reference to how argument works.
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Engaging a counterargument usually strengthens a case when it is done by concession and reply. Naming the strongest objection (phones distract) and answering it (restrict phones to corridors, not classrooms) shows the writer has considered alternatives and still reached a position. Ignoring it leaves the objection standing and makes the writer look unaware. The student's one-clause mention is the weakest form: it raises the objection and drops it. A developed counterargument has three moves: state it in its best form, grant the part that is valid, and show why the overall position survives. This also helps the word limit, because a well-built counterargument paragraph can replace several repetitive reasons. The judgement being tested is that a persuasive text is judged on how it handles opposition, not on how loudly it asserts its own side.