Coursework: Discursive and Argumentative Writing: Question 7
Syllabus W2, W3
Your discursive coursework assignment argues that schools should move to a four-day teaching week, with the fifth day set aside for independent project work. Two paragraphs have already been drafted, but nothing yet connects them:
Paragraph 2 ends: "Compressing lessons into four days would ease the low-level fatigue that builds across a five-day timetable, giving students more consistent energy for each subject they study."
Paragraph 3 opens: "A compressed timetable would also change how teachers plan their lessons, forcing sharper prioritisation of the topics that matter most."
Write ONE sentence that could be inserted between these two paragraphs to link paragraph 2's point about student energy to paragraph 3's new point about teacher planning. Your sentence must connect the specific content of both paragraphs, not rely on a generic connective alone (e.g. "In addition,"), and must not simply repeat wording already used in either paragraph. [4]
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Worked solution
Assessment focus
This question isolates a cohesion skill needed throughout extended coursework writing: linking two same-side supporting paragraphs so an argument reads as one continuous line of reasoning, not a sequence of separate points dropped one after another.
Mark scheme (4 marks)
- 1 mark: written as a single sentence, not a fragment or multiple sentences.
- 1 mark: refers back to paragraph 2’s specific content (energy/reduced fatigue), not a generic phrase.
- 1 mark: gestures forward to paragraph 3’s specific content (teacher planning/prioritisation), not a vague forward reference.
- 1 mark: uses fresh wording to make the connection, rather than repeating phrasing already used in either paragraph.
Model bridging sentence
“Yet freeing up that energy is only half the benefit: it also gives teachers a reason to reconsider which parts of a compressed timetable actually earn their place in it.”
Why this works
The sentence opens by referring back to “that energy”, the specific idea paragraph 2 ends on, rather than a generic connective, then pivots (“is only half the benefit”) into paragraph 3’s new territory of teacher planning, using the phrase “earn their place” to anticipate “sharper prioritisation” without repeating it. A reader moves from one paragraph to the next without a jolt.
Common pitfalls specific to this task
- Writing “In addition, teachers would also need to plan differently,” which signals a new point but never actually connects it to paragraph 2’s content about student energy.
- Repeating “ease fatigue” and “sharper prioritisation” almost verbatim rather than finding new phrasing that still makes the same connection.
- Writing a sentence that only restates paragraph 2 (“Students would therefore have more energy in lessons”) without ever pointing forward to paragraph 3’s teacher-planning point.