Le mouvement concessif : certes… mais
P47.b2-writing.07 · Audience: guest, language-pro, it-ml · Prerequisites: Les connecteurs qui structurent : d'abord… en définitive
Unité PE-05 · campagne 3 · céder un point pour gagner le débat.
The concession is the most B2 move in the whole exam: it proves you can hold a position and see the other side — exactly what capacité à argumenter is scored on.
The mechanics are a two-beat rhythm. Beat one, certes: you grant the strongest version of the objection — « Certes, le train coûte plus cher que l'avion sur certains trajets… » No caricature; a weak concession convinces no one. Beat two, mais: your thesis takes back the floor — « …mais son bilan carbone reste sans comparaison. » The same move dresses up as il est vrai que… néanmoins in a more formal register, or compresses into grammar with bien que + subjunctive: « Bien que le télétravail réduise les trajets, il fragilise le collectif. »
The fatal error is the concession without return. Stack up certes… certes… certes… and never fire the mais, and you have not nuanced your thesis — you have surrendered it. The examiner reads capitulation, and your introduction's promise (PE-02) is broken.
The practice items give you concessive moves to complete, diagnose, and translate between registers, so the certes → mais reflex fires even under exam-day pressure.
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