Writing Workshop 2
C2 · Writing · Rhetoric and Persuasion
A letter to the editor
Sir — The council’s proposal to introduce a four-day school week is the latest example of the dangerous nonsense now fashionable among so-called experts.
If we allow children a three-day weekend, it will not be long before they expect a four-day weekend, and before we know it, nobody will be working at all. My own children attended school five days a week and they turned out perfectly well, which proves the system works.
The councillor behind this scheme has, I note, no children of her own, so one wonders what she could possibly know about education. Besides, the vast majority of sensible parents I have spoken to agree with me.
Either we maintain standards, or we give up on our children’s future. The choice could not be clearer.
Model answer · Task 1
✉️ ━━━━ MODEL LETTER ━━━━ ✉️
📍 Sunbeam Bay · 12 October
Sir — Your correspondent and I share a concern for children’s education, but I fear his letter does that concern a disservice.
His central argument is that a three-day weekend would lead, step by step, to nobody working at all. This is a classic slippery slope: no evidence is offered that any of the intermediate steps would follow, let alone the final one. He then argues that, because his own children thrived under a five-day week, the system must work. A single family, however successful, cannot tell us how a policy affects thousands of pupils.
The remark that the councillor has no children of her own is an ad hominem. Whether or not she is a parent, her proposal must be judged on its merits; plenty of excellent teachers and researchers have no children. Finally, the claim that we must either “maintain standards” or “give up on our children’s future” is a false dilemma. The real question is whether a four-day week can maintain standards — which is a matter for evidence, not assertion.
None of this means that the proposal is a good one. In fact, I believe there is a serious case against it. The strongest argument is not about laziness or fashion but about equality. A shorter school week would place the burden of the fifth day on families, and those with flexible jobs or the means to pay for activities would cope far better than those without. Research from countries that have tried shortened weeks suggests that effects on attainment are mixed, and that disadvantaged pupils may lose most.
If the council wishes to pursue the idea, it should publish evidence on attainment and childcare, consult those families least able to adapt, and consider a limited trial with careful evaluation. That debate deserves better arguments on both sides.
Model answer · Task 2
✍️ ━━━━ MODEL ESSAY · OPENING ━━━━ ✍️
KETTLE & CO. refillable cleaning spray
One aluminium bottle. Refills that arrive as a tablet the size of a coin. Add tap water, wait two minutes, and you have 500 ml of spray that removes grease from kitchen surfaces as well as the leading supermarket brand in an independent test (Consumer Lab, 2025). Each refill costs £1.20 and saves one plastic bottle. That’s it — no miracles, just less plastic.
⋯ (the complete model answer is in the teacher’s guide)
Sample questions (2 questions)
- Your turn: write a reply to the letter (280–350 words) for the same newspaper. Identify at least three fallacies precisely, avoid committing any yourself, and then present the strongest honest case against a four-day week.
- Your turn: write an honest advertisement (80–120 words) for a real or invented product — persuasive, but without weasel words or misleading claims. Then write an analysis (150–200 words) explaining the choices you made and comparing them with advertisement A, B or C.
Answers and hints from Migo appear when you do it online.