Introductions and Conclusions

1. ESL 115 Introductions and Conclusions

2. Analogies

3. Introduction overview • Introduces topic, purpose, audience, tone • General  Specific • Contents: • Hook • Background information • Thesis Hook Background Info Thesis

4. Hook • What ways can you “hook” your readers? • Comparison • Quote • Strong image or description • Surprising or striking fact/statistic • Commonly held misconception

5. Hook • Examples: • Call it green, call it sustainable, call it saving money, but one thing you have to call any efforts to cut costs or help the environment: a delicate balance.Belser, 2010. Being Green Comes with a Cost. Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved from:http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/top50/being-green-comes-with-a-cost-238105/#ixzz2QjvGoN1j • Secretary of State John Kerry said in Tokyo Monday that fewer Japanese students are coming to the United States because their parents are afraid of gun violence. Knox, 2013. Kerry says Japanese students shun U.S. because of guns. The Ticket. Retrieved from: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/john-kerry-says-japanese-students-shun-u-because-133801711--politics.html • Albert Einstein described insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein Quotes. 2013. Brainy Quote. Retrieved from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/albert_einstein.html

6. Background information • Gives the reader all the knowledge they need to understand your topic and writing. • Can include: • Definitions • History of your topic • Context • In our case? Description of problem and organization overview

7. Background information • How much background you give depends on who your audience is. • Do your colleagues need you to define technical terms they use frequently? What about the general public? • Should you explain abbreviations, like WFP? • If you give a name, should you tell us what the person’s title is? What if the person is Barack Obama? What is the person is Hugo Chavez? What if the person is David Cameron? What if the person is Oscar Pistorius? What if the person is Kristen Michelson?

8. Thesis Looks like they wrote a really, really bad thesis.

9. Thesis • What pieces do you need in your thesis for our GRP/IRP? Based on the information provided by World Food Programme (WFP), this research paper will analyze three solutions for the hunger problem in Africa: providing food in emergencies, supporting small farmers, and giving children vital nutrition. Following the critiques of these solutions will be suggestions for improvements.

10. Thesis • What pieces do you need in your thesis for our GRP/IRP? Based on the information provided by World Food Programme (WFP), this research paper will analyze threesolutions for the hunger problem in Africa: providing food in emergencies, supporting small farmers, and giving children vital nutrition. Following the critiques of these solutions will be suggestions for improvements.

11. Conclusion overview • Complements conclusion • Specific  General • Emphasizes message • Final word!

12. Conclusion • Required • Summary of essay • Restatement of thesis • Optional: • Call to action • Forecast/Prediction • Reference to earlier statement

13. Summary of essay • Summary of main points • Reminds the reader what information you want them to take away from the essay. • There should be no surprises in your conclusion—nothing new!

14. Restatement of thesis • Solidifies your argument in the reader’s mind • Paraphrase your own thesis! No word-for-word repetition

15. Conclusion options • Call to action • Suggestion for implementing thesis • Urging words to encourage change • Forecast/Prediction • Expected outcome if the readers follow or do not follow your thesis • Reference to earlier statement • A repetition of something already said • Not a restatement of the thesis

16. Introduction & Conclusion together • Look at them side-by-side when you finish writing and make sure they look something like this: