More practice with the language you're learning
Supplementary support — grammar, vocabulary, speaking and review — built from language already taught in the course. Not a lesson, and never a test.
1.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "**Hook**: 'My daughter's teacher was replaced by a chatbot on Tuesday. By Friday, she had stopped raising her hand.'"
2.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "**Claim**: 'Classroom AI is not a tutor. It is a silencing device — and we have not noticed because the marks are still going up.'"
3.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "**Concession**: 'The best case for classroom AI is real: over-stretched teachers, unequal access, patient practice. I have seen it work for a struggling reader in my own street.'"
4.Write a HOOK that could only introduce an op-ed against speed cameras (not for or against traffic policy in general).
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'The letter said I owed £100. It also said, in small print, that the road it was posted on had been re-limited three weeks earlier.'
5.Write a one-sentence CLAIM against four-day working weeks — unhedged.
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'The four-day week is a productivity cut dressed up as a wellbeing gain.'
6.Mini-context: someone disagrees with you in a meeting. Reply in two turns, using this structure at least once.
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Op-ed craft at C2: (a) HOOK — an image, incident or number that could only introduce THIS argument, not any argument on the topic; (b) CLAIM — one sentence naming what you are actually saying, unhedged; (c) CONCESSION — the strongest version of the opposing case, granted in one paragraph, no strawmen; (d) CLOSE — one line that reframes the hook, not a summary and not a call to action unless a specific one earns its place.
1.Sort these into "positive", "neutral" and "critical" in tone, and be ready to defend a borderline case: to earn its space, the argument in one sentence, to run past the point, a strawman, to concede a paragraph, a landing sentence, edge without cruelty, to bury the lead
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to earn its space — to justify being published given everything else competing for the reader's attention | the argument in one sentence — the single claim the piece is actually making | to run past the point — to keep writing after the argument has already landed | a strawman — a weakened version of the other side, easy to knock down | to concede a paragraph — to give the opposing case one full, fair paragraph before returning to your own | a landing sentence — a final line the reader still hears an hour later | edge without cruelty — argumentative sharpness that doesn't tip into contempt | to bury the lead — to hide the actual claim under three paragraphs of context
2.Odd one out: which of these is least like "to earn its space" in meaning or use — the argument in one sentence / to run past the point / a strawman? Explain why.
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Compare against: to justify being published given everything else competing for the reader's attention
3.Odd one out: which of these is least like "the argument in one sentence" in meaning or use — to run past the point / a strawman / to concede a paragraph? Explain why.
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Compare against: the single claim the piece is actually making
4.Odd one out: which of these is least like "to run past the point" in meaning or use — a strawman / to concede a paragraph / a landing sentence? Explain why.
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Compare against: to keep writing after the argument has already landed
5.Odd one out: which of these is least like "a strawman" in meaning or use — to concede a paragraph / a landing sentence / edge without cruelty? Explain why.
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Compare against: a weakened version of the other side, easy to knock down
6.Semantic map: place "to earn its space" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
7.Semantic map: place "the argument in one sentence" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
8.Semantic map: place "to run past the point" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
9.Mini-dialogue: write four lines in which two of this lesson's words appear naturally.
1.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "to earn its space" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
2.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "the argument in one sentence" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
3.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "to run past the point" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
4.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "a strawman" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
5.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "to earn its space" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: The first two lines have to earn their space.
6.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "the argument in one sentence" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: If you can't give me the argument in one sentence, we haven't got a piece.
7.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "to run past the point" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: Cut the last paragraph — you're running past the point.
8.Rewrite one sentence from your last piece of writing, swapping a weak combination for a precise one from this lesson.
1.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "**Hook**: 'My daughter's teacher was replaced by a chatbot on Tuesday. By Friday, she had stopped raising her hand.'"
2.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "**Claim**: 'Classroom AI is not a tutor. It is a silencing device — and we have not noticed because the marks are still going up.'"
3.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "**Concession**: 'The best case for classroom AI is real: over-stretched teachers, unequal access, patient practice. I have seen it work for a struggling reader in my own street.'"
4.Diplomatic vs direct: soften this, then sharpen it. Which version would you actually use, and to whom? "Which sentence in the concession is doing the honest work?"
5.Compress: express the idea behind "The first two lines have to earn their space." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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to justify being published given everything else competing for the reader's attention
6.Compress: express the idea behind "If you can't give me the argument in one sentence, we haven't got a piece." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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the single claim the piece is actually making
7.Compress: express the idea behind "Cut the last paragraph — you're running past the point." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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to keep writing after the argument has already landed
8.Read one of your own paraphrases aloud. Which word choice is doing the most work? Replace everything around it.
1.Rank and justify: order the ideas in Which sentence in the concession is doing the honest work? / Where would a weaker writer have used a strawman — and what did she do instead? / What does the piece refuse to say that a lesser version would have said? from most to least convincing. Defend your top choice.
2.Role-play: 5 minutes of prep. Rule: no idea allowed that could have run any other week this year. Take the position you least agree with.
3.Decision task: you have two minutes to reach a single recommendation on A one-paragraph written pitch (120 words) for whichever of the three ideas you'd actually file.. State it in one sentence.
4.Now switch sides and argue the opposite for 60 seconds. Which language had to change?
5.Follow-up — push further: Pitch on: whether cities should ban new drive-throughs. Add a counter-example.
6.Follow-up — push further: Pitch on: whether AI-generated art should be labelled by law. Add a counter-example.
1.Paragraph ordering: draft your four topic sentences only, then decide their best order and say why.
2.Partial writing: write only the concession paragraph of Write a 520–580-word op-ed on a topic you can defend. You MUST: (a) open with a specific hook (image, incident or number), (b) state the argument in one sentence in the first three paragraphs, (c) give the opposing case one honest paragraph, no strawmen, (d) close on a line that echoes the hook, (e) avoid 'in today's society' openings and 'we must act now' closes, (f) use at least FIVE target items naturally. — 60–80 words.
3.Editing pass: cut 15% of your words without losing content. What went first?
4.Audience switch: rewrite your opening for a hostile reader, then for a sympathetic one.
5.Self-check: underline every repeated word and replace two with precise choices from this lesson.
1.Pick one Cambridge-style article prompt (real or invented). Draft the opening sentence and the one-sentence claim. Read them aloud in under 20 seconds — if you can't, they're not yet doing the work.
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Open with something specific (an image, incident or number). State the argument in one sentence in the first paragraph. Concede one thing in the middle. Close by echoing your opening, not by summarising.
2.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — Where is the ARGUMENT IN ONE SENTENCE?
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Paragraph 3: 'what happens to a child's voice when the room she is speaking into stops needing her to speak.' The rest of the piece defends that claim.
3.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — Where is the CONCESSION PARAGRAPH?
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Paragraph 4 — the entire paragraph grants the strongest version of the opposing case (patience, unequal access, an actual success story) before returning.
4.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — How does the writer avoid a strawman?
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She names the best evidence for the other side, agrees the questions the AI asks are excellent, and refuses easy alternative culprits (phones, pandemic).
5.Key word transformation: rewrite "**Hook**: 'My daughter's teacher was replaced by a chatbot on Tuesday. By Friday, she had stopped raising her hand.'" using the structure from Op-ed architecture: hook → claim → concession → close, in 3–8 words.
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Op-ed craft at C2: (a) HOOK — an image, incident or number that could only introduce THIS argument, not any argument on the topic; (b) CLAIM — one sentence naming what you are actually saying, unhedged; (c) CONCESSION — the strongest version of the opposing case, granted in one paragraph, no strawmen; (d) CLOSE — one line that reframes the hook, not a summary and not a call to action unless a specific one earns its place.
6.Reflection: which part of this task type costs you most time, and what will you do differently next time?
1.True, false or not stated? Decide for each, then correct the false ones: "Paragraph 3: 'what happens to a child's voice when the room she is speaking into stops needing her to speak.' The rest of the piece defends that claim." · "Paragraph 4 — the entire paragraph grants the strongest version of the opposing case (patience, unequal access, an actual success story) before returning." · "She names the best evidence for the other side, agrees the questions the AI asks are excellent, and refuses easy alternative culprits (phones, pandemic)."
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Where is the ARGUMENT IN ONE SENTENCE? → Paragraph 3: 'what happens to a child's voice when the room she is speaking into stops needing her to speak.' The rest of the piece defends that claim. | Where is the CONCESSION PARAGRAPH? → Paragraph 4 — the entire paragraph grants the strongest version of the opposing case (patience, unequal access, an actual success story) before returning. | How does the writer avoid a strawman? → She names the best evidence for the other side, agrees the questions the AI asks are excellent, and refuses easy alternative culprits (phones, pandemic).
2.Retrieval race: in 60 seconds, list every word from this lesson you can remember, then check what you missed.
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to earn its space, the argument in one sentence, to run past the point, a strawman, to concede a paragraph, a landing sentence, edge without cruelty, to bury the lead
3.Use "to earn its space" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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to justify being published given everything else competing for the reader's attention
4.Use "the argument in one sentence" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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the single claim the piece is actually making
5.Use "to run past the point" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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to keep writing after the argument has already landed
6.Teach it back: explain Op-ed architecture: hook → claim → concession → close to someone who has never met it, in under 45 seconds.
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Op-ed craft at C2: (a) HOOK — an image, incident or number that could only introduce THIS argument, not any argument on the topic; (b) CLAIM — one sentence naming what you are actually saying, unhedged; (c) CONCESSION — the strongest version of the opposing case, granted in one paragraph, no strawmen; (d) CLOSE — one line that reframes the hook, not a summary and not a call to action unless a specific one earns its place.
7.Whose columnist voice do you actually trust — and what does their concession paragraph usually do?