The Beginning and the End

1. The Beginning and the End A Guide to Introductions and Conclusions

2. So you want to write a killer introduction? • The first thing to remember: the thesis and body paragraphs are the most important. Thesis and Restated Thesis Body Paragraphs (They’re soy.) Conclusion Intro

3. The Introduction • Serves two purposes: • Gets the reader’s attention • All about style, ethos, and pathos • Tells the reader what the paper’s about • Thesis • Directional Statement • For timed writings, they should be 2-4 sentences. • Remember, this is the five paragraph essay style.

4. Opener Styles • Startle with facts or statistics • “Twenty percent of people who struggle with eating disorders will die from their disease.” • Describe a compelling condition or situation • “Two children under the age of nine huddle under a makeshift shelter. They have not eaten in days. Their parents are dead.” • Use an anecdote or dialogue • “Captain Hook taunts the flying boy, sure that this fight will be his end. However, just as his sword is within reach of Peter Pan, the captain realizes that he is standing in mid-air and promptly falls into the eager mouth of a smiling crocodile.”

5. More Opener Styles • Explain a conflict or inconsistency • “The United States is one of the richest countries in the world, yet its over 700,000 homeless often go uncared for.” • Ask a question • Only do this if you’re desperate. • “Can murder be merciful?” • Use a quotation or proverb • Margaret Mead memorably stated, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The appropriateness of these techniques is hotly contested

6. Where does this leave the AP student? • Thesis: The pink flamingo is very similar to Americans: it is different fromother birds, just like America is unique; it is bright and bold, justlike the American spirit; and it has persevered and changed throughoutthe years, just like the American people. • Nikki Windisch • Ideas in thesis: • Pink flamingo • Originality • Birds • Bright and Bold • American Spirit • Change • American People

7. My several attempts… • Thesis: The pink flamingo is very similar to Americans: it is different fromother birds, just like America is unique; it is bright and bold, justlike the American spirit; and it has persevered and changed throughoutthe years, just like the American people. • Nikki Windisch • Pink Flamingo • “This weekend, a teenage boy went ‘flocking’; to raise money for a European vacation, he filled his neighbor’s yards with pink flamingoes and promised to remove the tacky items—or, even better, relocate them—for a small fee. It is strange to think that the cheap pink bird Americans now pay to be rid of was once a welcomed addition to the American front lawn.”

8. My several attempts… • Thesis: The pink flamingo is very similar to Americans: it is different fromother birds, just like America is unique; it is bright and bold, justlike the American spirit; and it has persevered and changed throughoutthe years, just like the American people. • Nikki Windisch • Birds/Bold • “Most urban Americans are accustomed to the dull greys of pigeons, the infamously dirty scavengers of city waste. It is no wonder, then, that in the fifties, Americans chose to celebrate a different bird, one that conveyed cleanliness rather than filth and intensity rather than monotony.

9. My several attempts… • Change • In recent years, groups of technology-embracing Americans have stood in line for hours for the opportunity to purchase the newest game system or iPhone. American consumers seem eager to embrace the sort of change that indicates they are cutting edge and forward-thinking. • Thesis: The pink flamingo is very similar to Americans: it is different fromother birds, just like America is unique; it is bright and bold, justlike the American spirit; and it has persevered and changed throughoutthe years, just like the American people. • Nikki Windisch • Change • “American society is always changing.” Chaaaange!

10. Techniques to Avoid… • Apologizing/Reticence • In my opinion… • I’m not sure, but… • Announcing your Intensions • In this paper, I will… • The purpose of this essay is… • Using a dictionary definition • The Webster’s Dictionary defines friendship as… • Restate the prompt • The “Dawn of Man” intro • Society has always… • Since the beginning… • Clichés • “’Tis better to have loved…” • “Like father, like son”

11. The Conclusion • Restates Thesis • Revisits points, but doesn’t retell them • Ends with a closing statement • Gives sense of closure or answers “so what?”

12. The Closing Statement • Why is your essay important? • What does it tell us about humanity, community, love, life, death? • A general point we can glean from essay • Makes a point beyond the obvious • Relate all that you’ve written to the universe • Exhortation • What should we do now? • Returns to introduction (with a change) I’ll miss you, Pizza!

13. Let’s Try! • Restated Thesis: “By using colorful diction and emphasizing the cultural and economicshift from year to year, Price illustrates her view that the Americanculture is preoccupied with the flashy and bold and is ever-eager forchange and new beginnings.” • Emily Dargen • Now that pink flamingoes generally only occupy front lawns next to worn-out shoes and faded vinyls during yard sales, perhaps it is time for Americans to recognize that the exciting change and bright future they’re looking for cannot be found in baubles, but, instead, will be found in the ingenuity and industry of the American people.

14. Let’s Try! • Restated Thesis: “By using colorful diction and emphasizing the cultural and economicshift from year to year, Price illustrates her view that the Americanculture is preoccupied with the flashy and bold and is ever-eager forchange and new beginnings.” • Emily Dargen • During the current economic recessions, Price’s tale of the American love affair with the flamingo gives hope that contemporary Americans’ zeal for new beginnings will pull them through these challenging times—if only so that they too can obsess over an outrageously tacky trifle.

15. Conclusion Don’ts • Don’t start with “In conclusion,” “To sum up,” etc. • Don’t include new information that you couldn’t fit anywhere else.