TEF Canada Writing Section B: How to Develop an Argument

Section B gives you 35 minutes and requires a minimum of 200 words. The task is to express and justify a point of view.

The argument skeleton

1. Introduce the issue.
2. State your position.
3. Give reason one + example.
4. Give reason two + example or consequence.
5. Acknowledge another perspective if useful.
6. Conclude clearly.

Do not turn the essay into a list of connectors. The logic should be visible even if you removed every linking phrase.

Develop rather than inflate

A paragraph becomes useful when it adds information: a reason, mechanism, example, consequence or qualification. Repeating the same claim with different adjectives is not development.