Conceding: Study Guide (English Language 9.3)

What it means to concede

In everyday life, to concede is to admit that someone has made a fair point. In argument, it is a skilled move with a precise meaning. The course says that when writers concede, they do one or more of three things:

1. They accept all or a portion of a competing position or claim as correct.
2. They agree that the competing position or claim is correct under a different set of circumstances.
3. They acknowledge the limitations of their own argument.

The course also states the reason writers do this: writers enhance their credibility when they refute, rebut or concede opposing arguments and contradictory evidence. In other words, the audience trusts a writer who has taken the other side seriously.

The three forms of concession

Form	What the writer says	Example (written by Marlbridge)
Accept a portion as correct	“You are right about this part.”	“Critics are right that the scheme cost more than planned.”
Correct in other circumstances	“Your claim would hold if conditions were different.”	“A ban on early starts would work in a city with reliable buses, but this district has none.”
Acknowledge my own limits	“My argument has a boundary.”	“This evidence comes from only three schools, so it cannot show that the effect is general.”

Notice that none of these gives up the thesis. Each narrows or acknowledges something and then returns to the writer’s position.

The pattern: concede, then pivot

A concession rarely stands alone. The typical pattern has three parts.

1. Acknowledge the opposing point accurately.
2. Pivot with a word that turns the argument back (but, yet, however, even so, still).
3. Reassert the thesis, now narrower or better supported.

The language of concession

Concessions are often signalled by subordinating words that put the opposing point in a dependent clause and the writer’s claim in the main clause (see Topic 7.5).

• “Although the scheme has real costs, it saves lives.”
• “Granted, the evidence is limited; even so, it points in one direction.”
• “It is true that younger pupils may need more supervision, but older pupils do not.”
• “Admittedly, my sample is small.”

The structure places the concession in the subordinate position and gives the main clause, and the end of the sentence, to the writer’s claim.

Why concede? What the writer gains

• Credibility. The audience sees that you have considered the other side.
• Control of the objection. You state the best version of the opposing point yourself, so the reader does not feel you are avoiding it.
• A more defensible claim. Acknowledging limits lets you keep a narrower claim that is harder to refute.
• Goodwill. Especially with hostile or neutral readers, concession lowers resistance (see Topic 8.3).

Limits: do not concede too much

Concession is a tool, not a policy. Avoid these errors.

• Conceding the heart of your thesis. If the concession removes the reason for your claim, you no longer have an argument.
• Conceding with no pivot. A paragraph that ends on the concession leaves the reader with the opposing view.
• Conceding something false. Agree only with what is true and relevant. A false concession is a mistake, not courtesy.
• Conceding every point. Too many concessions make the writer sound unsure.

A public-domain example

Frederick Douglass, in his 1852 address in Rochester, New York, on the Fourth of July, began his criticism of the nation with praise for its founders: “The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men too.”

The words are a concession that accepts a portion of the audience’s view as correct. Douglass grants that the founders deserve admiration, which his audience held strongly. The praise is sincere and lets him identify with their values. It is also a setup: the speech then turns to the contradiction between those ideals and the continued enslavement of millions. By conceding the founders’ greatness first, he makes his criticism of the nation’s conduct more difficult to dismiss as a rejection of the nation’s ideals. He is not attacking the principles; he is holding the nation to them.

Worked example 1: writing a concession in three forms

Task. Thesis (written by Marlbridge): “The school should replace its end-of-year exams with coursework.” Write one concession of each form.

Step 1: find the strongest opposing points. Exams are consistent for all pupils; coursework can be copied or helped by others; coursework increases the workload during the year.

Step 2: write.

• Accept a portion as correct: “It is true that coursework can be copied, and that is a serious weakness.”
• Correct in other circumstances: “Exams would be the better choice in a subject where fast recall of facts is the skill being tested, such as basic number work.”
• Acknowledge own limits: “My evidence comes from a pilot in two departments, so it cannot show how coursework would work across the whole school.”

Step 3: pivot after each.

• “…a serious weakness, but supervised in-class tasks and oral questioning can reduce it.”
• “…but in subjects that depend on extended reasoning, coursework captures what an hour-long exam cannot.”
• “…yet the results are consistent enough to justify a wider trial.”

Step 4: check. Each concession is true, relevant and followed by a pivot. None gives away the thesis.

Worked example 2: analysing a concession

Task. Explain how the writer concedes in the paragraph below (written by Marlbridge) and what is gained.

“Opponents of the new tram line say that it will cost more than the buses it replaces, and on the figures available they are probably right. Construction will take three years, and the early fares may be higher. Even so, the question is not the first-year cost but the cost over thirty years, over which a tram carries more passengers with less fuel and fewer repairs. The council should therefore approve the line while setting a clear review date for costs.”

Step 1: find the concession. “on the figures available they are probably right” and the details that follow (three years, higher early fares) accept the opponents’ cost claim as correct in the short term.

Step 2: which form? It accepts a portion of the opposing claim as correct (short-term cost) and implicitly acknowledges a limit of the writer’s own argument (the benefit lies in the long term).

Step 3: find the pivot. “Even so, the question is not the first-year cost but the cost over thirty years.”

Step 4: find the reassertion. “The council should therefore approve the line while setting a clear review date.” The thesis is narrower and more credible: it includes a review date as a safeguard that the concession has made reasonable.

Step 5: state what is gained. The writer appears fair-minded, controls the main objection and ends with a qualified claim that is harder to attack.

Common misconceptions

• “Conceding means admitting that I am wrong.” It means acknowledging what is true in the other view, and your thesis usually survives.
• “A good argument never concedes.” Strong arguments often concede early so that they can win the later points.
• “I should concede in a separate paragraph.” A concession can be a single clause or sentence inside a paragraph.
• “Concede first, in every essay.” Placement depends on the reader; see Topic 9.5.
• “Conceding is the same as refuting.” Refuting demonstrates that an opposing claim is invalid; conceding accepts something of it.
• “Any ‘although’ is a concession.” It is a concession only if it accepts something of the opposing view.

Where this leads

Topic 9.4 takes up the other two moves: rebutting and refuting. Practise now with the practice questions, use the revision notes and checklist, and then read the Topic 9.4 study guide. To recall the sentence structures that carry concessions, revisit the Topic 7.5 study guide.