Concept Cards for Writing Arguments

This ONE shift will change how your students see writing.

When my English 9 students begin learning argumentative writing, I don’t just hand them a formula. Instead, I hand them Concept Cards.

Why? Because writing isn’t just about plugging in claims, reasons, and evidence. It’s about seeing how all the pieces fit together.

Think of Concept Cards as a lens:

🔹 Grab the Claim card → Which intro is stronger, Example A or B?

🔹 Swap to Reasons & Evidence → Who builds the argument more effectively?

As students rotate through the cards, their thinking is focused, connections are made, and deeper understanding sticks.

The result? Students move beyond surface-level writing to develop conceptual schema, making their arguments stronger, more nuanced, and easier to transfer to new tasks.

Free Download Below-If you try it out in your own classroom, connect with me on Instagram!

For more ideas, see the Classroom Snapshot section of Concept-Based Literacy Lessons: Designing Learning to Ignite Understanding and Transfer (Lanning and Brown).

Example of Concept Cards for Argumentative Writing

Argument Writing Concept Cards.pdf

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