Composition Planning: A Partial Smartphone Ban in School Breaks
You are writing the composition task for the Abitur: 'Should smartphones be banned during school breaks?' You must write 250–300 words. You have two source extracts. Source A reports that a six-week ban at one secondary school improved concentration, based on teacher observations. Source B reports that students felt safer during breaks when they could keep phones for emergencies, based on a student survey. You want to argue for a partial ban, not a total one. The task requires a clear thesis, one counterargument, and a conclusion that follows from your evidence. You have 35 minutes. You must not claim that the sources prove a general rule. Your teacher has warned that the two sources use different types of evidence and different sample sizes. You need to integrate at least one source limitation into your argument.
1. Formulate a thesis for a partial ban and explain how it avoids overgeneralising from the sources.
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Thesis: 'Schools should ban smartphones during breaks for younger pupils but allow restricted use for older pupils, because the evidence for concentration gains is promising but limited, while the safety concern is real.' This avoids overgeneralising because it treats Source A’s six-week, single-school, teacher-observation evidence as suggestive rather than conclusive; it does not say 'bans improve concentration everywhere'. It also does not dismiss Source B: a student survey is self-reported, but it identifies a concern that a partial ban can address. The thesis is arguable and narrow enough for 250–300 words. In the exam, a thesis that names the condition ('for younger pupils', 'restricted use') is stronger than 'smartphones are bad/good' because it can be supported and countered.
2. Choose one counterargument and explain how you would concede and rebut it without weakening your thesis.
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Counterargument: 'A total ban would be simpler to enforce and would remove the temptation altogether.' I would concede that consistency can make enforcement easier, especially for younger pupils. Then rebut: simplicity is not the only criterion; if older students use phones for emergency contact or medical apps, a total ban may create new problems and reduce trust. The concession should be brief and genuine, not a straw man. The rebuttal should return to the thesis: a partial ban with clear zones (e.g., phones allowed in designated areas but not in the playground) addresses both enforcement and safety. In the exam, conceding a point and then limiting its force shows judgement; ignoring the counterargument weakens the composition.
3. Identify one source limitation and show where in the essay you would mention it.
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Source limitation: Source A is based on teacher observations at one school over six weeks, with no comparison group; this is a limitation of scope and design. I would mention it in the paragraph where I use Source A, not in a separate 'limitations' paragraph that feels tacked on. For example: 'The reported improvement in concentration is worth taking seriously, but because it rests on six weeks of teacher observation at a single school, it cannot establish a general rule.' This wording uses the source without overclaiming. Source B’s student survey has a different limitation: self-report and possible selection bias. Mentioning one limitation precisely is better than listing both vaguely. The exam rewards integrating evaluation into the argument.