Week 2: Beginnings and Ends

1. Today we will be covering Introductions, Conclusions, and the stuff in between them, body paragraphs. Introductions and Conclusions serve as the “anchors” for your essay, while the body paragraphs are the muscle and substance of your essay.

2. Just like introducing yourself in real life, your essay introduction creates an impression that can be good or bad. Take a look at this video clip of a different kind of introduction…

3. What introductions made a strong impression on you? Why? Which introduction(s) did not make a good impression on you? Why?

4. You should think of the introduction as an upside-down triangle. The information contained within the introduction should start out in as general a fashion as possible and gradually become more specific until your last sentence, which should be the most specific, the thesis statement

5. Look at your introductions to your diagnostic essays. Do they fit the shape of an upside-down triangle? Look at the Introductions and Conclusions handout for more information. If your introduction fulfills these criteria, then you are on the right track!

6. Now let’s discuss conclusions. A conclusion is a bit like the reverse of your introduction paragraph. If an introduction is an upside-down triangle, a conclusion is a right-side-up triangle. A conclusion is still a FULL PARAGRAPH, not just one or two sentences. You will start by restating your thesis, but not repeating it word-for-word. You will then briefly summarize the information contained in your essay. Finally, you will end with a “clincher”.

7. What do you think a “clincher” is? Let’s brainstorm, in groups, a few ideas on what would make a good clincher for an essay.



Homework Due 6/7: Finish re-writing the introduction to your diagnostic. Upload a NEW copy of your Diagnostic and call it netid_diagnostic2.docx. Also, remember, revision of your diagnostic thesis statement and an outline are due on Wednesday.