Introductions:
The introduction
of a paper can be the key to success or failure of the paper as a
whole. Remember that it is the reader's first impression which
is most lasting, and it is the
job of the introduction both to 1) interest the reader and 2) establish
the pattern of
thinking which you want him to follow as he reads your paper.
Here are several good
ways to begin papers.
1. Topical event or current controversy:
If you already know everything you need to
know about voice mail, please press 1
and turn the page. If you need more
information, hang on, and the rest of this story will
be with you shortly.
2. New look at a familiar situation:
Few ideas are more entrenched in the American
popular consciousness than the
value of a college education. It's the
key to success. By and large, economists agree:
college graduates earn much more than high
school graduates, and the gap widened in the
1980’s. The conclusions seem obvious.
Stay in school. In a high-tech world-with
specialized skills in acute shortage-we’d
all be better off if more Americans went to
college. Not necessarily.
3. Interesting quotation: Try Bracelet's Familiar Quotations or
find your own, but be sure
to give credit to whoever said it.
4. Definition: Use one that involves controversy and confusion
and is central to your
essay.
5. Striking fact or statistic: Be sure to name your source.
According to Robert Samuelson (Newsweek, Aug. 31,
1992), grade inflation in
high schools is the norm. In 1966, 15% of
entering college freshman had A averages in
high school. By 1991, the share with A averages
had climbed to 24%, despite a decline in
college board scores over the same period.
6. Dilemma or puzzle: Begin with one to be solved, or at least
understood. The aim is to
make the reader want to read on and find out the
answer.
7. Controversial question: Put the question concisely and interestingly
and be sure to offer
an answer.
Example: "Should a
man put loyalty to his country above loyalty to a friend? Does loyalty
to
the government come before
loyalty to one's family? How we answer such questions
depends on..."
8. Analogy: One between two things that seem quite different but
really have something
important in common.
Example: "President
Clinton’s policy of immediately lifting the ban on gave in the military
is
equivalent to a commander
ordering his troops, “Ready, fire, aim!”
9. Set the scene: One that involves the reader in the issue or
event to be described. Using
specifics with strong sensory appeal is important
to this effect.
10. Amusing incident or anecdote: One that engages the reader's
interest and leads into
your subject.
Example: "As a veteran
writer of medical articles for large circulation magazines, I have a
similar feeling to the violinist
who rebelled after being with an orchestra for thirty years.
One day, he sat with his
hands folded during rehearsal, and when the conductor demanded
furiously, 'Why aren't you
playing?' replied, 'Because I don't like music.' Sometimes I
feel like sitting at my
typewriter with my hands folded. I don't like mass-media writing."
An ending should wrap things up without beating the reader over the
head. In other
words, it should provide a sense of completion; of promises kept; of
ideas and experiences
summed up without the reader feeling, “ You said that already!”
Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when trying to finish your essay.
1. Keep the conclusion proportional in length to the essay as a whole.
2. Try to summarize, but with a new twist. New twists can be added
by discussing the
implications of what has been said.
3. Look to your beginning for a key word or phrase that you can work into the end.
4. Make use of the same rhetorical devices that can begin or develop
an essay effectively.
Quotations, anecdotes, metaphors, questions can
all be used to sum up as well as begin an
essay.