WritingCenter
YoungstownStateUniversity

Introductory Paragraphs

  • Give background information; let the readers know what led you to consider the point you are treating in this essay.
  • Mention other viewpoints besides the one that you wish to support; use a transition to make your readers aware of which viewpoint is yours: "Most people think that American education is going downhill. National test results indicate that this may be true. I, however, have found that today's students are far better prepared academically than we have been led to believe."
  • Ask questions that will interest the readers and keep them reading.
  • Use an interesting, relevant quotation to introduce your topic.
  • Use an anecdote, a brief story, that sets the stage for your topic.
  • Tell briefly what each body paragraph will deal with; don't go into so much detail that the readers don't need to read the rest of the paper.

Types of Introductory Paragraphs

Direct Announcement: "A Solution to Graffiti Problems"
There is no one complete method of solving the graffiti problem. Increased lighting of streets and buildings at night, limited spray paint cans, and new graffiti-proof building materials can all help to decrease the graffiti problem. Graffiti removal is a costly process and all of these methods should be used to try to decrease the problem of graffiti.

Question and Series of Related Facts:
What do Cornbread, Cool Earl, and Rembrandt have in common? "Nothing," say the millions who are appalled at the notion of graffiti by the first two well-known Philadelphia graffiti "artists" whose work has defaced many city buildings. "Quite a bit," argue the defenders of this unusual kind of "folk art." While a vocal minority champions the spray paint "artists," concerned citizens are banding together to find a solution to problems created by such "creative expression."

Definition:
"Graffiti" is an Italian word that refers to words or phrases written on public sidewalks or buildings. Ancient examples of this "public writing" were found on the walls of the city of Pompeii when it was unearthed. Today the term often signifies the spray-painted slogans that "decorate" urban schools, houses, and even subway cars. To some people--psychologists and sociologists for the most part--such graffiti are a valid and even artistic means of self-expression. To most people, however, graffiti represent an ever-increasing urban problem calling for immediate solution.

Quotation:
In a national symposium on graffiti, David Adams, noted art historian, stated: "Time was when 'Kilroy was here' decorated many out-of-the-way places, but now it has been replaced by more exotic
signatures, and the penciled comments have given way to spray-painted slogans." As Dr. Adams pointed out, once graffiti writing moved out of the rest rooms and onto the streets, it immediately became an object of concern among citizens trying to solve our urban problems. Elimination of this unsightly blight presents a real problem.

Anecdote:
Yesterday Billy Barnes came home at 3:30 and let himself into his house with the key he carries to school every morning. After fixing himself a snack of five Oreo cookies and a glass of grape Koolaid, Billy watched television (MTV) for two hours. When the doorbell rang, Billy didn't answer it. Instead, he peered out the window from behind the living room curtains and waited anxiously until the stranger on his front porch walked away. At 5:30 Billy remembered that he was supposed to call his mother when he got home from school, but when he telephoned her office, she was in a meeting and couldn't talk to him. Billy is seven years old; he represents a growing number of latchkey children who pay the price for their parents' changing lifestyles.

Refutation:
Many people (among them, many legislators) believe that the legalization of marijuana would cause a widespread increase in drug addiction and crime. Actually, as moderate legalization is beginning to show in some states, legalization probably will create a drop in crime as marijuana ceases to be contraband and a black-market product. Also, it is reported that as its use has increased, use of hard drugs and the crime associated with such drugs have decreased.

Presenting a New Slant:
Sickle cell anemia, a serious disease that mainly threatened blacks, has recently become the target of an extensive health campaign on both state and federal levels. This campaign has been received by the public with tremendous approval. It's about time, however, that the other side of the story was revealed. For, although the programs to test for and treat the disease have undoubtedly been undertaken with good intentions, they have had some decidely negative effects.

Conclusions

The conclusion needs to let the readers know that the essay is coming to a close and that you have accomplished what you intended.

DO NOT:

  • start a whole new topic.
  • contradict your entire point.
  • make obvious statements.
  • repeat your exact words from the thesis.

DO:

  • summarize the main points of the essay.
  • point out what has been learned from the information provided in the essay.
  • supply the possible solutions for problems you have raised.

Six Commonly Used Concluding Strategies

Restatement- This is the most familiar type of conclusion. The controlling idea is repeated in different words, and the main points of the essay's argument are reviewed or restated. A straightforward essay, whose introductory paragraph is a direct announcement, will often end this way. Restatement has the advantage of reinforcing one last time all your major points. For this reason, it can be an excellent concluding strategy for an essay which seeks to prove a point. The following example illustrates a conclusion using the restatement technique:

It is clear from even a casual trip through much of Appalachia that this region presents a challenge to a social planner. But before any utopian schemes can be considered, basic needs must be met. The region's main problems remain very basic: adequate housing, poor nutrition, and a lack of educational facilities.

Chronological Wind-up - when a piece of writing is narrative, it is natural to have its final paragraph tie up all loose ends by ending with what happened last. Personal experience essays and stories narrated in the first person normally use this method. For example, this student ends a personal experience essay with a chronological wind-up:

The next few years of my life passed quickly, probably because I was so busy. In the space of three years, I got my equivalency diploma and held down three jobs-- in sales, in the restaurant business, and in a men's clothing store. I also hitchhiked around the country. When I came back from my trip, I decided to return to school, and that's how I ended up in this English class, taking the first step toward getting a college degree.

Illustration - To make an abstract or general conclusion more concrete and specific, you may choose to follow a broad restatement of your controlling idea with an example to illustrate it. A relevant news item can often serve this purpose. Similarly, a personal experience essay--or any story told in the first person--may conclude with an example that strikes a personal note. You can make a general or abstract conclusion more convincing if you provide an analogy with another situation. A student essay about the perils of living at college concludes with this analogy:

In many ways, learning the "ins" and "outs" of living on campus is almost like taking a survival course. This training is not as thorough as what the army would put you through, but it comes close; it is learning survival in society instead of in the wilderness.

Prediction - Writing designed to convince or persuade your readers may very naturally end with a prediction that takes the conclusion a step further than a summary. This type of conclusion does sum up the essay's main points, but it also enables the writer to make certain additional projections on the basis of those points. For example, a nursing student ended his paper for a public health course with this prediction:

Even though there has not been a case of smallpox in the United States for years, children should still be vaccinated against this disease. Despite the assurances of many doctors to the contrary, some physicians still recommend this course of action. As far as this vocal minority is concerned, it is extremely likely that failure to immunize against smallpox could result in an outbreak of epidemic proportions, just like the one that recently occurred in Somalia.

Recommendation of a Course of Action - When you feel you have convinced your readers, you may want to recommend action. In persuasive writing, it can be psychologically very effective to conclude by appealing to the reader for action. For example, note how this student concluded his essay which discussed the harmful effects of food additives:

Every month, the Food and Drug Administration finds that another food additive has harmful effects on humans. In spite of this, food processors seem reluctant to eliminate additives from their food. It seems as if the only way we, the consumers, will be able to make our desires felt is to stop buying food that contains artificial preservatives and flavor enhancers. It is time for us to take an active part in determining what we eat.

Note: The writer's use of "It is time" is characteristic of this type of concluding strategy.

Quotation and Dialogue - As in the introduction, a quotation can lend authority to a conclusion. Quotations by well-known authors can sometimes sum up your essay handsomely as well as enable you to use their distinctive writing styles to add variety and interest in your conclusion. This conclusion uses the words of a character from literature to sum up:

In its tone and its theme, The Lost Days illustrates Dickson's mixed attitude toward capitalism. On the one hand, he felt that the ideal represented by capitalism was good and fair-minded. On the other hand, Dickson could not ignore the many inequalities being perpetuated by that system, inequalities best expressed by the character of Jacob when he said, "The unfairness I have seen in my life became more bitter when I realized that it was done in the name of fairness; it was done in the name of equal opportunity and of capitalism" (347).

Writing a Summary

To summarize an essay, article, or book, you should not include your own thoughts on the matter, but describe the essay as objectively as possible, whether you agree with it or not, though you may suggest what you think the author is up to, what their agenda or strategy is, at the conclusion of the summary. Try to use pertinent quotations by the author, working them in gracefully where appropriate. Also, any important or conspicuous words, phrases, or terms should be put in quotation marks.

You can model your summary on the structure of the original, keeping the size of your paragraphs in roughly the same proportion as the paragraphs of the original. But you do not need to follow the author's organization slavishly. You might want to use your own organization based upon what you think the point of the essay is. A good summary of something is a critique of it because it makes explicit what has only been implicit. Understanding an argument is halfway work toward refuting or confirming it, so summary is a crucial first step toward using information, expertise, or opinion. It is essential that you read about paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting in your handbook before you begin your summary. You must understand the differences between paraphrase, quotation, and plagiarism.

So a summary is intended to highlight objectively the main points of another writer's work. Although written in your own words, the summary does not include your opinions of the piece you are considering. Since the summary eliminates those details that are not needed to convey the major points, it is naturally shorter than the original. In general, a summary is from one fourth to one half the length of the original.

The problem we all face when attempting to summarize a piece of writing is figuring out what to include and what to leave out. Below are some tips on how to choose material to include in your summary.

  • Cross out the less important details.
  • Underline topic sentences and key ideas.
  • Take notes on those key ideas--jot down the information that clarifies the topic sentence, for example.

When you summarize, you might try following these steps:

  • Read the piece for understanding first. Never summarize as you read the article for the first time.
  • Before you begin to write, check the topic sentences and key words (words that are underlined, italicized, or capitalized). These will clue you in on main ideas.
  • Jot down the organization of the original and follow that pattern in your summary.
  • Check your summary to be sure you have been objective. Your opinions are not part of the original
  • Check your summary to be sure that you have properly documented any words or phrases that you have taken from the original.
  • Identify your summary and its source. Some instructors will ask that you do this as part of the title of the piece; others will request a footnote.

Introducing Quotations And Maintaining Coherence

The goal of introducing direct quotations into your paper is to support the points you are trying to make. If the quotations are carefully introduced, the reader knows at all times who is speaking, and the reader will not be jarred by awkward shifts in sentence style or syntax. Thus, the test of good incorporation of quoted material into your text is to read your text aloud, including the quoted material, neither pausing nor making reference to quotation marks. The text should read as smoothly as though it were all in your own words. Work the quotations into your own sentences. To do this, try the following strategies:

Use a variety of words or phrases to introduce the quoted material, not only to prevent monotony, but also (1) to add to the authority, and (2) to indicate why you are quoting. Many terms may be used to introduce quoted material: asserts, believes, claims, comments, confirms, declares, defines, describes, explains, indicates, makes clear, proposes, etc. However, these terms are not interchangeable. Make your choice based on your meaning.

Example: All of us know the grammar of our own language because, as Robert C. Pooley writes, "grammar is the srtucture: the observation of what people do when they use English words in discourse. Grammar, as here defined," he continues, "makes no choices, expresses no preferences, takes no sides, creates no standards" (95).

Maintain continuity between the direct quotation, the summary, the paraphrase, and the comment that surrounds it. When direct quotations are used effectively, they are usually introduced purposefully, set in an appropriate context through summary, adjusted to the syntax of the paper by paraphrase, and commented upon by the author of the paper.

Example: Edward P. J. Corbett, one of America's most distinguished rhetoricians, defines grammar clearly "as the study of how a language 'works'--a study of how the structural system of a language combines with a vocabulary to convey meaning" (111).

The following passage is from a paper on brainwashing:

In March, 1979, J. Thomas Underleider and David K. Wellisch reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry that they had taken up the issue of "coercive persuasion (brainwashing)" and "deprogramming" in the religious cults because deprogramming had raised "intriguing and disturbing questions for the medical, and legal and mental health professions." They again cite the eight elements of brainwashing, summarizing Lifton's earlier description.

Deprogramming, according to Underleider and Wellisch, uses methods ranging from "gentle rap" sessions to sleep deprivation and sensory overload, with marathon-type encounters that feature shouting, repetitious derogation of the cult, isolation of the person from his associates . . . and, occasionally, use of physical force" (279). The methods seem to be strikingly like brainwashing.

Note that the author has introduced the quotation by establishing the authority of Underleider and Wellisch, established the context by summarizing the reasons they were studying the phenomenon called "brainwashing," adjusted the syntax of the quoted material to the syntax of the paper by paraphrasing a few words just before entering into the quotation, and commented on the material in the conclusion of the paragraph.

The sequence, then, is as follows:

  • identify the source
  • summarize to provide context
  • paraphrase to adjust syntax
  • directly quote to lend authority or precision
  • comment to assure coherence

DO NOT LET THE QUOTATIONS TAKE CONTROL.

Remember that your ideas are primary and that you are only using quotations to add support to your points. Therefore, they must always be integrated into your writing.