Unit Six  Joining Sentences to Show Concession

 

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Read the following short paragraphs and follow the directions below them.

 

1.  Both Hunk and Rabbit are star quarterbacks. They both play for the Middleton Marvels and both have been invaluable players. Hunk is fast and strong, and Rabbit is too.

 

Circle the joining words and list them here:

 

 

 

2.  Both Hunk and Rabbit are star quarterbacks, but they have different strengths. Hunk has had more experience in pro football, but Rabbit is young and learns quickly. Rabbit has a strong arm and executes long passes well, yet Hunk is precise on short and medium-range passes. Rabbit is fast, but Hunk can make quick decisions on the line of scrimmage.

 

Circle the joining words and list them here:

 

 

 

3.  Although Hunk and Rabbit are star quarterbacks, they have different strengths. While Rabbit is young and learns quickly, Hunk has had more experience in pro football. Even though Rabbit has a strong arm and throws long passes well, Hunk is precise on short and medium-range passes. Whereas Rabbit is fast, Hunk can make quick decisions on the line of scrimmage.

 

Circle the joining words and list them here:

 

 

 

After reading paragraph 3, do you have the sense that the writer thinks one player is better than the other? Which one? Why?

 

 

The Concessive Subordinators

 


We use the contrast subordinators although, even though, though, while, and whereas to show contrast. But they do more than just show contrast: they de-emphasize the points they are attached to and, at the same time, show concession. When we concede a point, we admit that it has value. Concessive subordinators are highly useful in presenting written arguments because they allow us to concede, or admit, that an opposing point has merit and at the same time, to de-emphasize the opposing point's importance to the reader.

For example, football fans in the town of Middleton disagree about who the starting quarterback on the Middleton Marvels should be—Hunk or Rabbit. The local newspaper has invited readers to submit their opinions in letters to the editor.

 


 

A fan in favor of Hunk writes:

 

Although Rabbit has a strong arm and executes long passes well, Hunk is precise on short and medium-range passes, so he should be the starting quarterback.

 

A fan in favor of Rabbit writes:

 

Although Hunk is precise on short and medium-range passes, Rabbit has a strong arm and executes long passes well, so he should be the starting quarterback.

 

Using the same information about the two quarterbacks, both fans have used although not only to contrast the two players, but also to concede that the competitor does have good points; at the same time, the writers de-emphasize the competitor's good points. (The fans could also use the subordinators while and whereas, but although, even though, and though are the strongest concessive subordinators.)

Conceding a point shows that we acknowledge that an issue is complex and that in forming our opinion, we have considered the opposition. People who read an opinion that merely states, "Rabbit has a strong arm and executes long passes well, so he should be the starting quarterback," will wonder, "But what about Hunk's precision on short and medium-range passes?" and will be less likely to value the writer's opinion.

 

 

    Summary of Contrast and Concession Words

 
 


Contrast                     Concession

 

COORDINATORS                   but, yet

 

SUBORDINATORS                 although                      although

                                                            even though                 even though

                                                            though                         though

                                                            while                            while

                                                            whereas                       whereas

 

TRANSITION WORDS            however

                                                            on the other hand

 

Choosing Contrast Coordinators or Subordinators

 


Coordinators give equal emphasis to the ideas they join.

Subordinators de-emphasize the ideas they are attached to.

Transition words do NOT join sentences; they are best used to show transitions between two series of sentences that are logically related.

 

 


        Practice in Contrast and Concession:

        Two Neighborhoods

 


Americans often move to new locations because they are leaving home to go away to school, taking a new job, buying a home to accommodate a growing family, or retiring to a place more hospitable to the elderly.  Whatever our reasons for moving, we try to find a neighborhood that will best suit our needs and lifestyles.

In the following exercise, you will be contrasting two neighborhoods in Marina City, or contrasting one neighborhood's advantage with a disadvantage. You will be either joining two sentences to simply show contrast or joining two sentences to show contrast and concession and to emphasize information about one neighborhood.

Remember that the coordinators but and yet show contrast, giving equal emphasis to the ideas they join, while the subordinators although, even though, though, while, and whereas show contrast and concession, de-emphasizing the points they are attached to.

 

Directions for joining are given in italics.

 

EXAMPLE 1:        Sunny Hills is close to public transportation. Sea View is near a beautiful park.

 

a.         Show contrast; give equal emphasis:

 

SOLUTION:          Sunny Hills is close to public transportation, but Sea View is near a beautiful park.

 

EXPLANATION:     To give equal emphasis to the good features of the two neighborhoods, we use the coordinator but (or yet) to join and contrast the two sentences.

 

b.         Show concession; emphasize the good point of Sea View:

 

SOLUTION:                Although Sunny Hills is close to public transportation, Sea View is near a beautiful city park.

 

EXPLANATION:       We emphasize the good feature of Sea View by placing the concessive subordinator although before the information about Sunny Hills. We admit that Sunny Hills has a good feature, but we emphasize the good feature of Sea View.

 

EXAMPLE 2:          Sea View is near a beautiful park.

                                    Sea View is far from the college campus.

 

a.         Show contrast; give equal emphasis:

 

SOLUTION:             Sea View is near a beautiful park, yet it is far from the college campus.

 

b.         Show concession; emphasize the distance from campus:

 

SOLUTION:            Even though Sea View is near a beautiful park, it is far from the college campus.

 

Exercise One  Sunny Hills and Sea View

 

1.         Sea View is close to a museum.

Sunny Hills has its own swimming pool and bike paths.

 

a.         Show contrast and give equal emphasis:

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         Show concession and emphasize the advantage of Sea View:

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

2.         Sunny Hills is close to the college campus.

Sunny Hills has unreliable bus service.

 

a.         Show concession and emphasize a disadvantage of Sunny Hills:

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         Show concession and emphasize an advantage of Sunny Hills:

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

3.         Sunny Hills is close to a shopping mall.

Sea View has many small shops and cafes.

 

a.         Show contrast and give equal emphasis:

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         Show concession and emphasize a good feature of Sea View:

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Exercise Two  My Neighborhood

 

In the following exercise, you will join sentences to show people's points of view about their neighborhoods, using the concessive subordinators although, even though, though, while, and whereas to concede a point and at the same time to de-emphasize it.

Directions are given in italics; choose the most important information to emphasize by identifying what is most important to the resident named in the directions.

 

EXAMPLE:       Sea View has no nightclubs or dance spots.

                            Sea View is close to the city's main library.

 

a.             Join from the point of view of a college student who loves to party more than study:

 

SOLUTION:      While Sea View is close to the city's main library, it has no nightclubs or dance spots.

 

b.         Join from the point of view of a college student whose first priority is doing research:

 

SOLUTION:        Although Sea View has no nightclubs or dance spots, it is close to the city's main library.

 

1 .        Sea View has two great cafes.

Sea View is far from campus.

 

a.         Join from the point of view of a college student without a car, whose most important concern is having a way to get to school:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         Join from the point of view of a professor with a car whose day isn't complete unless she has her morning espresso at a local cafe:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

2.         Sunny Hills has several outstanding public schools.

Sunny Hills has an excellent private school.

 

a.         Join from the point of view of a parent of two children in public schools:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         Join from the point of view of a parent of two children in private school:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

 

3.         Sea View has poor public transportation.

Sea View has many services for senior citizens.

 

a.         Join from the point of view of a retired man in his 70s:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         Join from the point of view of a woman who rides the bus to work:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

4.         Sea View has great ocean views.

Sea View is far from the freeway.

 

a.         Join from the point of view of a computer specialist who must commute by freeway daily:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         Join from the point of view of a person who rarely leaves home:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

5.         Sunny Hills has an outdoor swimming pool and bike paths.

Sunny Hills has no fitness centers.

 

a.         Join from the point of view of a physically active outdoors person:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         Join from the point of view of a guy who likes to lift weights in front of an admiring audience:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

6.         Sunny Hills has many neighborhood problems.

Sunny Hills has active community organizations.

 

a.         Join from the point of view of a resident who'd just like peace and quiet:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         Join from the point of view of a community activist who loves working for a good cause:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

        Practice in Contrast and Concession:

        Alternatives to Gasoline

 


Although methanol is the favored alternative to gasoline, government regulators and private industry are considering alternative fuels. The chart below compares the advantages and disadvantages of different fuels. Take a look at the chart so that you will see the source of information for the sentences you will be working with.

 

Contrasting the Fuel Alternatives

 

                           Advantages                                 Disadvantages

 


Gasoline              best cruising distance—425 miles      polluting

$4.70-5.25

                           technology in place                          unreliable foreign sources

 


Methanol             less polluting                                  low cruising distance-265 miles

$4.65-5.60

                           domestic sources                            questions about safety

 


Ethanol               made from corn                             costly without government

$4.90-7.98                                                                   subsidies

                           less polluting                                  questionable engine durability

                                                                              medium cruising distance 330

                                                                                 miles

 


Compressed        clean and cheap domestic sources     very low cruising distance—

Natural Gas                                                               106 miles

$3.15                   good for vans and trucks                 difficult to use with cars

 


Electricity           cleanest alternative                         very low cruising distance—

$1.65                                                                          120 miles

                           lowest cost                                    sluggish acceleration

                                                                              long recharging times

 

 


The costs given under the names of fuels are the costs to drive 100 miles, estimated by the California State Energy Commission for the year 2000. Ethanol has a wide cost range because the first amount, $4.90, is the cost with government subsidies, and the second amount, $7.98, is the cost without government subsidies.

 

The cruising distance figures tell how far you can go on a tank full of the fuel in an average-sized passenger car.


 

In the following exercise, you will join sentences using the coordinators but and yet to contrast fuels and the subordinators although, even though, though, while, and whereas not only to contrast fuels, but also to emphasize a point and show concession.

You will see two sentences, followed by directions for joining them, given in italics.

 

EXAMPLE:      Compressed natural gas is available from domestic sources.

                           Methanol is available from both domestic and friendly foreign sources.

 

a.             Show contrast; give equal emphasis:

 

SOLUTION:     Compressed natural gas is available from domestic sources, but methanol is available from both domestic and friendly foreign sources.

 

EXPLANATION: Here we join the two sentences with the coordinator but (or yet) to simply contrast the two fuels and give equal emphasis to their advantages.

 

b.             Show concession; emphasize the advantage of methanol.

 

SOLUTION:       Although compressed natural gas is available from domestic sources, methanol is available from both domestic and friendly foreign sources.

 

EXPLANATION: To emphasize the advantage of methanol, we placed the concessive subordinator although in front of the sentence about natural gas. Now we have de-emphasized the advantage of natural gas and emphasized the advantage of methanol. At the same time, we have joined the two sentences, shown contrast, and conceded, or admitted, that natural gas does have a good point.

 

 


 

Exercise Three  Alternatives to Gasoline

 

Join the following sets of sentences, following the directions given in italics. Remember that coordinators and subordinators both show contrast, but the coordinators but and yet give equal emphasis to the sentences they join, and the subordinators although, even though, though, while, and whereas deemphasize the ideas they are attached to. Refer to the previous page for examples.

 

1.         Gasoline has the best cruising range.

Electricity costs the least.

 

a          Show contrast and give equal emphasis:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         Show concession and emphasize the advantage of gasoline:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

2.         Electricity requires long re-charging times.

Compressed natural gas has a low cruising range.

 

Show concession and emphasize the disadvantage of compressed natural gas:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

3.         Ethanol has a high cruising range.

It is very costly without government subsidies.

 

Show concession and emphasize ethanol's good point:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

4.         Compressed natural gas is clean and cheap.

It has a low cruising range.

 

Show concession; emphasize the disadvantage of compressed natural gas:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 


 

Exercise Four  Taking a Stand

 

From the chart, choose the fuel alternative that you think is best and state your opinion in a sentence here:

 

 

 

Using information from the chart, complete the following:

 

1.         Write a sentence in which you concede, or admit, an advantage of another fuel while emphasizing an advantage of your fuel:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

2.         Write a sentence in which you concede a disadvantage of your fuel and emphasize a disadvantage of another fuel:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

3.         Write a sentence in which you concede a disadvantage of your fuel and emphasize one of its advantages:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

4.         Consider the fuel cost of driving 100 miles in a car using your fuel.

 

a.         If the cost of your fuel is higher than the cost of other fuels, write a sentence in which you concede that your fuel costs more while emphasizing an advantage of your fuel that might make the higher cost worthwhile:

 

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 

b.         If the cost of your fuel is lower than the cost of other fuels, write a sentence in which you concede a disadvantage of your fuel and emphasize its low cost: