How many sentences of reasoning are enough?

Two is usually the floor: enough to show the causal path from evidence to position.

Must a cited figure carry a year?

Yes: the year and the sample decide whether the figure can be checked and whether it still holds.

DSE English | Argumentative Essay Practice Paper 3 (Evidence, Reasoning and Conclusion)

2026-11-04

Ten items from steel-manning to the reasoning share of a paragraph, practising how evidence hangs off a point and how a conclusion answers “so what”.

Attempt first, mark afterwards　Allow thirty to thirty-five minutes; state the point-to-evidence pairing before counting words.

01　Paper details (check answers afterwards)

Item	Detail
Questions	10 items
Suggested time	About 35 minutes
Difficulty mix	Foundation 2 · Intermediate 3 · Challenge 4 · Error redo 1
Chapter	Chapter: DSE English \| Argumentative Essay (Paper 2)
Level	S5 (Secondary 5) English

02　Questions (10 items)

FoundationWhat is the advantage of rebutting the strongest opposing point (steel-manning) rather than the weakest?
FoundationFour paragraphs each carry one point with two pieces of evidence. How many pieces of evidence in total?
IntermediateIn a 100-word paragraph: a 15-word topic sentence and two pieces of evidence at 25 words each, with the rest as reasoning. How many words of reasoning?
IntermediateWith 10 minutes left for checking a 400-word essay, how many words must be covered per minute?
IntermediateThree body paragraphs run to 120, 130 and 110 words. What do they total?
ChallengeThe question asks “To what extent do you agree?” but the essay argues one side only. Where does it lose marks?
ChallengeWhat kind of evidence is “a 2019 survey of 500 students found that 62%…”?
ChallengeA conclusion restates the position but offers no recommendation or extension. What is missing?
ChallengeBoth body paragraphs argue from an economic angle. What kind of problem is that?
Error redoError drill: the essay writes “In my opinion, I think that…”. What is wrong?

03　Answers and one-line notes

#	Answer	One-line note
1	It shows you understand the opposing case and makes your own argument harder to dismiss	Knocking down a straw man is easy, but a reader can see at once that the real dispute was avoided.
2	Eight	Four paragraphs times two gives eight; evidence must hang one-to-one off a point before it can be counted.
3	35 words	100 − 15 − 25 × 2 = 35; reasoning squeezed to 35 words is usually the warning sign of thin argument.
4	40 words per minute	400 ÷ 10 = 40, so checking has to be selective; there is no time to rewrite sentence by sentence.
5	360 words	120 + 130 + 110 = 360; adding the 120 words of introduction and conclusion gives 480 for the whole essay.
6	It never addresses the extent, so there is no boundary or concession and the position reads as total agreement	“To what extent” asks for a boundary — which part you accept and which you qualify — and a one-sided answer never draws it.
7	Survey data (primary research); the year and the sample must be stated before it counts as credible	A year, a sample and a proportion — all three together are what make a figure checkable.
8	The implication: the reader knows the position but not what follows from it	A conclusion must answer “so what”; restating the position alone rewrites the introduction.
9	Overlapping angles: the points lack range and the essay proves one direction three times	Three paragraphs need three distinct angles — cost, education, fairness — or one paragraph has simply been written three times.
10	The meaning is doubled: two markers carry one position, wasting words and sounding spoken	“In my opinion” and “I think” do the same job; keep one and spend the other slot on substance.

04　What to do after marking

After marking, redo only the wrong items and write down which step went wrong (formula, unit, or misread number).
Repeat the same item two days later; move to the next paper only when both attempts are correct.
Parents only need the answer and note columns; there is no need to explain every item.

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