AP English Language / Reasoning and Organization
Lesson
Answering the voice that disagrees
Concession and refutation are part of organization, not a polite extra.
Learning goals
- State a counterargument in a form a skeptic would recognize.
- Answer it without sneering or changing the subject.
Explanation
Readers carry objections. If you ignore the obvious one, they will write it in the margin for you. Concession admits what is fair in that objection. Refutation shows why your claim still holds, or why the objection applies to a different case.
A straw opponent is easy and useless. “Some people just hate fun” is not a counterargument to a phone policy. “Students need phones for family emergencies” is. Answer the second.
Key terms
- Counterargument. A reasonable objection to the claim, stated so a skeptic would accept the wording.
- Concession. An acknowledgment of a fair point on the other side.
Common mistakes
- Misstating the other side so it is easy to knock down.
- Conceding so much that the original claim quietly disappears.
Practice
Original Marlow Works items. Check the answer explanation after you try.
A city engineer writes an open letter to residents arguing that a proposed bike lane will "cut crash injuries on this corridor, not just add paint to the curb." The phrase most clearly functions to do which of the following?
Original Marlow Works item — not a College Board question.
Take your time—this is practice, not a test.
Answer explanation
Write one honest concession to the claim “the library should stay open an hour later on weeknights.”
Answer. Any fair limit: staffing cost, safety after dark, or the fact that many students cannot stay even if the building is open.
A real concession names a cost or limit, not a cartoon.
Related resources
External links with reuse status. Marlow Works is independent and does not copy restricted exam or textbook material.
Official / link only
AP English Language and Composition course page
Official skills framework for rhetoric, argument, and synthesis.
College Board · All rights reserved · accessed 2026-10-01
Open sourceCC BY — attribution required
English Composition: Connect, Collaborate, Communicate
Open composition text for writing process, argument, and revision.
Open Textbook Library listing · CC BY · accessed 2026-10-01
Open source