Introductions and
Conclusions--Try These
Be
careful to choose an introductory device that is appropriate to your
subject matter, level of formality, and genre or disciplinary conventions.
Introductory Devices or Ways to Begin your Paper
1.
A brief general history or factual background of your topic
2.
State the major divisions of your paper
3.
An anecdote
4.
Contrast two opposing aspects of a topic--end with the aspect to be
discussed. (Usually good to dispel a popular view.)
5.
A question or questions to be answered in the body of the paper. A variation is to put the thesis in the form of a question or
questions.
6.
A quotation
7.
A surprising statement of fact or statistics
8.
A statement of the view you will oppose
9.
A justification or explanation of your personal position on the topic
10.
A statement that you topic needs new examination; your essay will provide
it
11.
Jump into middle of narrative scene with description and details of
action
12. A puzzling scenario
Sample Introductions/Theses
Topic: The Effects of Stepparents
Type 1
- Our mother remarried in Columbus, Ohio, 1980, two years after our father died
of cancer. What persuaded her to marry this surly truck driver so soon
after our father's death, I'll never know.
Thank God I was soon to leave home for nurses' training, but I worried
about my little sister Denise who would grow up with this man.
My worst fears became reality five years later. . . + thesis
Type 2
- My younger sister's relationship with our stepfather went through three main
stages: sadness at being treated so badly, then rebellion against his unjust
restrictions on her every action and finally a resignation which wasn't to end
the day she moved out of the house. . .+
thesis
Type 3
- The day my little sister Denise brought home a beautiful golden-speckled
lizard she beamed with pleasure and excitement.
What fun this curious little tom-boy was going to have catching flies and
mosquitoes to feed her new pet. Then
he came home and changed her mood to shame and embarrassment.
What kind of girl liked to play with lizards? Would she never become a "lady"?
She was a sloppy, slouchy, lazy insolent thing. . .+ thesis
Type 4
- A demeaning stepparent can have two quite opposite effects on the luckless
children that become their unfortunate victims.
On the one hand, years of criticism, verbal and sometimes physical abuse
can prepare a person for life's inevitable defeats in later endeavors, hardening
one so that these setbacks seem minor in comparison to the earlier traumas. On the other hand, some children grow into timid and fearful
adults after years of this cruel treatment and never experience the full and
happy lives that result from a better nurtured psyche.
Type 5
- How would you feel if for seven long years of your most helpless childhood, a
significant adult grumbled and growled at your every remark, ridiculed you in
front of your friends and frequently screamed that you were a devilishly bad
little fiend? What sounds like a nightmare to most people was the
wide-awake daily existence for my little sister Denise. + thesis
Type 6
- "What kind of girl likes to play with lizards?
Why don't you act like a lady?"
he screamed at my little sister Denise.
She had put up with this continual criticism for seven years, and
hadn’t lost her resistance to it yet. "I
hate you!" she yelled back as she ran into her room to escape.
Yet there was no real escape for her. . . + thesis
Or
"The effects of stepparents are only beginning to be studied and reported
in psycho-sexual journals," writes Dr. Ruth, herself a victim of four
stepfathers and five stepmothers. In
the June issue of Psychology Today, she explains how her unusual
childhood led to her obsessive ambition to be a radio sex authority.
Type 7
- Today 50% of all marriages will end in divorce.
Over 30% of American children are living in single parent households.
What will be the effects of these statistics on the individuals
involved?. . .+ thesis
Type 8
- An important group of psychologists have argued that divorce is good for
children. They maintain that
growing up around two adults who are bickering and arguing all day is more
harmful to the developing child than suffering through the trauma of loss and
separation. However, these
psychologists fail to consider what usually happens after divorce--remarriage.
Based on the experience of my little sister Denise, I believe that
divorce is bad for children because when their parents remarry, they typically
end up with stepparents--people who will never have the same regard for them
that their natural parents do.
Type 9
- Someone needs to speak out for all the unhappy stepchildren of this world!
From Cinderella on down, stories abound of how they are trampled on,
bullied, whipped and hated by their step-parents. More alarmingly, non-fiction statistics prove that
stepchildren are more apt to become social misfits as a result of their early
traumas. Remarriage should be
avoided were children are involved. I
have seen the results of these unfortunate hybrid households firsthand in the
case of my little sister Denise. + thesis
Introductions to Avoid -- (Either because they are worn out, seem contrived, or both.)
"Webster's Dictionary definitions"
"From the beginning of time"
Conclusions
As with
introductory devices, you must use a conclusive device that is appropriate to your topic, level of formality,
and genre and disciplinary conventions.
1. Restatement or summary (Hollis suggestion: Do not use with short papers, 2-5 pages. Best with papers over 5 pages long or for very formal situations.)
2.
Allude back to material in the introduction--frame the essay
3.
Offer a solution
4.
End with a call to action
5.
Give the result of the topic of your paper
6.
Show topic's significance or effect(s)
7.
Personal or group reaction--explain what you or others will do in
response to the topic
8.
Punchy single sentence, statistics, facts
9.
Important implications
10.
A thought provoking question about your topic
11.
Quotation
12.
Anecdote
13.
A trick some writers use is to save a point that could have been made in
the body of the paper for the conclusion. The
point should obviously be one of lesser importance.
Your
conclusion should be polished and emphatic.
You want to leave your reader with a striking impression of what you've
written. This is your last chance
to affect the reader.