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    110 WEEK 4, Sem1, 2324

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    Olawoore Testimony
    This document provides information on introductions and conclusions in academic essays. [Paragraphing II: Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs] It discusses what introductions should do, including capturing attention, indicating what the writing is about, and providing context to help the reader understand. Common introduction structures are also outlined, such as using anecdotes, quotations, or statistics to open followed by a clear thesis statement. Sample introductory paragraphs are provided. Concluding paragraphs are also discussed. They should remind the reader of the central idea and bring a sense of closure without introducing new ideas. The structure of concluding paragraphs typically involves restating the thesis, briefly summarizing the arguments, and providing

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    110 WEEK 4, Sem1, 2324

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    This document provides information on introductions and conclusions in academic essays. [Paragraphing II: Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs] It discusses what introductions should do, including capturing attention, indicating what the writing is about, and providing context to help the reader understand. Common introduction structures are also outlined, such as using anecdotes, quotations, or statistics to open followed by a clear thesis statement. Sample introductory paragraphs are provided. Concluding paragraphs are also discussed. They should remind the reader of the central idea and bring a sense of closure without introducing new ideas. The structure of concluding paragraphs typically involves restating the thesis, briefly summarizing the arguments, and providing

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    This document provides information on introductions and conclusions in academic essays. [Paragraphing II: Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs] It discusses what introductions should do, including capturing attention, indicating what the writing is about, and providing context to help the reader understand. Common introduction structures are also outlined, such as using anecdotes, quotations, or statistics to open followed by a clear thesis statement. Sample introductory paragraphs are provided. Concluding paragraphs are also discussed. They should remind the reader of the central idea and bring a sense of closure without introducing new ideas. The structure of concluding paragraphs typically involves restating the thesis, briefly summarizing the arguments, and providing

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    16 views16 pages

    110 WEEK 4, Sem1, 2324

    Uploaded by

    Olawoore Testimony
    This document provides information on introductions and conclusions in academic essays. [Paragraphing II: Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs] It discusses what introductions should do, including capturing attention, indicating what the writing is about, and providing context to help the reader understand. Common introduction structures are also outlined, such as using anecdotes, quotations, or statistics to open followed by a clear thesis statement. Sample introductory paragraphs are provided. Concluding paragraphs are also discussed. They should remind the reader of the central idea and bring a sense of closure without introducing new ideas. The structure of concluding paragraphs typically involves restating the thesis, briefly summarizing the arguments, and providing

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 16

    Week 4

    Paragraphing II:
    Introductory and
    Concluding Paragraphs
    (Oshima and Hogue 2007, pages 147-159; Wyrick 2011, pages 50- 69)
    Introductions and
    Conclusions
    • An academic essay begins with an introductory paragraph

    and ends with a concluding paragraph.

    • This routine is part of everyday communicative behaviour.

    2
    What do introductions do?

    They provide information


    They capture the attention They indicate what a piece that will help the reader to
    of the reader/listener. of writing is about. understand what the essay
    discusses.
    Anecdote

    Quotation
    OPENING
    Structure of
    Statistics
    Introductions
    THESIS STATEMENT

    Etc.

    4
    Structure of Introductory Paragraphs
    • OPENING: may begin with a hook/ attention grabber and
    proceed to provide adequate introductory context:
    • Background information (general to specific) –
    demonstrate knowledge of your subject/topic and
    related extant literature; prepare the mind of the
    reader to understand your topic
    • problem statement – identify and foreground the gap
    that your essay seeks to fill; what warrants your
    essay? Also called the bridge, for it links the
    background to the thesis statement.
    • THESIS STATEMENT: specify the focus of your essay; what
    is your central argument? What is the main point of your
    essay? Students are encouraged to write strong thesis
    statements.
    THE OPENING
    • This is the preliminary part of an introduction.
    Numerous strategies, methods or approaches may be
    employed to open an essay and provide relevant
    background information; these include:
    – using relevant quotations
    – statistical data
    – anecdotes
    – starting with an opposite situation
    – opening with (rhetorical) questions
    – definitions
    – relevant historical events
    – popular sayings (e.g., proverbs, axioms/maxims)
    – an observation
    – etc.
    6
    What should influence your opening/background?

    Know your Know your


    audience message/ purpose

    Gender To explain

    Professional
    To persuade
    background

    Age To inform

    Nationality To describe

    Level of
    education
    Strong Thesis Statements
    (From Informed Writing)
    • A strong thesis statement must have the following
    qualities:
    – It must be arguable: a thesis statement must
    state a point of view or judgment about a topic.
    An established fact is not considered arguable.
    – It must be supportable: the thesis statement
    must contain a point of view that can be
    supported with evidence (reasons, facts,
    examples).
    – It must be specific: a thesis statement must be
    precise enough to allow for a coherent argument
    and remain focused on the topic.
    Thesis statement: Points to note

    The thesis statement expresses the central idea of an essay.

    It is derived from the topic of the essay and the stance/


    perspectives of the writer on it.

    It occurs in the introductory paragraph.

    It needs to be carefully worded.

    It should neither be too broad nor too narrow.

    It should be precise and concise.


    9
    How long should an introduction be?

    No clear Must not be Average


    Must get to Must be
    rule about too long to
    the point clear
    length: 100
    length but be boring words
    Sample Introductory Paragraph
    (Method used: starting with an opposite situation)

    Diseases like scarlet fever and whooping cough used to kill


    more young children than any other cause. Today, however,
    child mortality due to diseases has been almost completely
    eliminated by medical science. Instead, car accidents are the
    number one killer of our children. And most of the children
    fatally injured in car accidents were not protected by car seats,
    belts, or restraints of any kind. Several steps must be taken to
    reduce the serious dangers car accidents pose to our children.

    11
    Sample Introductory Paragraph
    (Method used: asking (rhetorical) questions)

    What is love? How do we know that we are really in love?


    When we meet that special person, how can we tell that our
    feelings are genuine and not merely infatuation? And if they
    are genuine, will these feelings last? Love, as we all know, is
    difficult to define. But most people agree that true and lasting
    love involves far more than mere physical attraction. Love
    involves mutual respect, the desire to give rather than take,
    and the feeling of being wholly at ease.
    12
    Concluding Paragraphs

    • The concluding paragraph is the last paragraph of


    an essay.
    • It reminds the reader of your central idea.
    • There should be a sense of closure.
    • Never begin an entirely new idea in the concluding
    paragraph.

    13
    STRUCTURE OF CONCLUDING PARAGRAPHS

    Thesis restatement: affirmation of


    stance/viewpoints; what did the essay set
    out to do? Has this objective been met?
    Has the main argument / claim been
    substantiated?

    Brief synthesis: summary of arguments / the


    ideas in body paragraph discussions to
    support (restated) thesis

    Comments/closing remarks: final relevant


    propositions or proposals —
    recommendations, suggestions, advice, calls
    to action, appeals, asking provocative
    questions, making predictions, etc.
    An example
    As evidenced in the foregoing discussions, indeed, past experiences and prejudice can adversely affect the quality of

    communication. They incline us to hasty conclusions, and the misjudgement of people and issues in information

    exchange processes. They affect the choice of suitable words as well as tone in encoding messages and this affects the

    quality of the decoding process and feedback, thereby hindering effective communication. There is, therefore, every

    need to subject personal experiences to critical analysis and prevent them from negatively influencing our conclusions

    or judgements in communication. So is there the need to question our preconceived ideas or judgements so that our

    communication will be based on facts and decorum. Guarding against fallacious and prejudicial tendencies is one sure

    way to promote effective communication.


    KEY
    •Thesis restatement: affirmation or highlighting of stance/viewpoints
    •Brief synthesis: assembling of topics/harmonisation of ideas
    •Comments/closing remarks: final relevant propositions or proposals
    THE END

    16

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