This chapter is the last of this handbook. Through the earlier sections of this book, you have learned how to visualize, spatialize, and format the argument and body of an essay. In this final chapter, we will discuss the frame within which the body of every essay is placed, the introduction and conclusion.
Now that you have learned to develop a thesis statement, topic sentences, and paragraphs from those topic sentences, only two parts of the essay are left to deal with: introductions and conclusions. Just as body paragraphs and thesis statements have a definite purpose, introductions and conclusions have definite purposes. Introductions introduce your reader to the material that will follow in the body of the essay and do so in an interesting, intelligent manner that grabs the reader's attention and makes him want to read on. Conclusions provide a sense of closure to an essay by signifying to the reader that the end of the piece has come and remind the reader of the major points of the essay. Good introductions and conclusions can be the hardest part of an essay to write, but since the first and last thing a reader sees are the most memorable to him, introductions and conclusions are very important.
Though the number of creative ways to introduce an essay is infinite, there are certain tried-and-true techniques that you should be aware of.
With all of the doctors out there to choose from, how can a patient know if he is getting a good doctor or a bad one?
By using an interesting and important question as our opening sentence, we hope to draw our reader in and make him ask "Yeah, how do I know?" We then tell him how with our thesis statement and spend the rest of the essay enumerating the method.
Recently, I accompanied my father to work, where inspects local restaurants for cleanliness. During the day, however, I more than I bargained for. Initially, I thought I would simply spend quality time with my father, but I ended up being suspicious and disgusted with some of my favorite restaurants in my home town, Pensacola, Florida.
Here we have instantly provided the reader with a sort f challenge, making it obviously worth his while to read on. If our reader lives in Pensacola, he is going to want to know which restaurants our writer found to be unsanitary. The writer has given the reader a bait, the promise of important knowledge, and the reader feels that he will be rewarded by reading on. Thus, baiting your reader is a marvelously effective introduction.
As recently as 1949, Simone de Beauvoir articulated what many women today feel to be the backbone of modern feminism: "One is not born, but rather, becomes a woman." In The Second Sex, Beauvoir searches out, defines, and catalogues the ways in which our children become "women" as opposed to men or just humans. Unfortunately, her findings reveal an insidious culture that essentially enslaves people into stifling roles or stereotypes. In addition, her discoveries implicitly accuse our society of forcing children into unreal, stereotypical roles that deny them the opportunity of being simply "who they want to be." Exactly how children become "women" and not men is worthy of a closer look.
Here, our writer has used the words of another writer to present a challenging and interesting idea. Certainly your audience will determine your choice of a quotation, but the quotation should always provoke a response from a reader. If the reader's response in this case is "No way are women taught feminine roles. They learn them naturally," then the reader will probably read on to find the weaknesses of the argument. However, if the reader's response is "How interesting! I always felt that women ere forced into their stereotypical roles," then the reader will still read on in order to find out that the operation takes place. In either case, the writer has achieved his purpose: he has interested his reader in his essay.
A few weeks ago, Malcolm Hyde, a graduate of Oakmont High School, sued the Oakmont Unified School District for having failed to teach him to read and write. Malcolm had been one of the estimated twenty to thirty percent of the students in our public schools who "mark time or drop out." The parents of such children cannot simply be content when a student passes and "stays out of trouble." Parents of educationally deprived youngsters must start taking direct interest in what happens in the classroom from day to day.
A student suing a school district for failure to teach him a skill is certainly going to be in the news, and therefore, most people are going to have heard something about the case. By referring to a current event, our reader piques the interest of anyone who has heard of the story and eve the interest of those who have not heard of the story, providing the current event is interesting, which this one certainly is.
Recently, a woman was admitted to West Florida Regional Medical Center for severe head wounds and a small amount of internal bleeding. After treating and hospitalizing her for over a week, the doctors released her without ever knowing for sure what had caused the extensive injuries. And although they suspected spouse abuse, the woman insisted that she had fallen down a flight of stairs. That the fall could have caused those injuries was unbelievable not only to the doctors but also to the woman, for she knew her husband had inflicted the injuries. Out of fear, self-loathing, or just helplessness, she thought it best to keep the truth a secret. But I know the real reasons why she withheld the truth: I know because I am that abused woman.
Here our writer has taken a personal experience and invested it with drama by referring to herself as another person. She surprises us by telling us that she is the woman in question, and she also proves her authority on the matter, since only she could really know what happened and why. Thus, our writer has pulled us in with the drama and shock value of the introduction, and we implicitly trust her words through the rest of the essay because of the absolute authority she has demonstrated in the introduction.
The following is a collection of commonly used bad introductions and first sentences. Avoid them.
Aside from being boring, the dull statement really says nothing challenging or interesting a all. Be fresh and exciting when you write!
Never open with a dictionary definition. Few openings are more dull.
Do not fake interest. Do not suck up to your professor with your introduction. These things always show up as the pitiful attempt for points that they are.
The introduction should entice the reader to get to the thesis statement and read it with the interest not beat him over the head with it from the word "go."
Beginning with a statement of one's own inadequacy is always a bad way to begin an essay. The reader first sees you as an incompetent nonexpert, and why should he read the work of someone who admits that they do not know what they are talking about? Humility is out. Confidence is in.