Persuasive Introductions & Conclusions

Copyright © 2007 Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. All rights reserved.
Persuasive Introductions

What makes an effective introduction?
• It grabs the reader’s attention.
• It clearly implies an organizational structure of the paper.
• It effectively includes one or more of the following strategies:
 anecdote or scenario
 interesting fact or statistic
 question
• Its choice of support is specific and relevant, and provides a
clear, connected lead-in to the paper’s main idea or thesis.
• Position is clearly stated or implied.

Ineffective Persuasive
Introduction
Dear Mr. Fernando,
I’m going to tell you three reasons why it is
not good to turn in late homework.
Does this introduction do the following?
 Grab the reader’s attention
 Imply an organizational structure of the paper
 Include one or more of the following strategies:
 anecdote or scenario
 question
 interesting fact or statistic
 Give support that is specific and relevant, and provide a clear,
connected lead-in to paper’s main idea
 State or imply a clear position

Some persuasive strategies used in introductions
• Anecdote/ Scenario
 The writer provides a personal experience or made-
up situation to introduce the position.
• Questioning
 The writer asks thought-provoking questions to
capture the reader’s interest.
• Interesting fact or statistic
 The writer gives an interesting piece of information to
grab the reader’s attention.

Anecdote/Scenario
“Extra! Extra! Read all about it! New rule
has kids scared.” Those are the headlines
from The Seattle Times. The new rule is an
epidemic, spreading around the country and
making children cry. “No late work has a
devastating effect and needs to be stopped
now before it reaches other countries,” says
Bill Warren, a noted authority.

Questioning
Dear Principal,
“Three strikes and you’re out!” Yes, that is
baseball, but really everybody deserves a second
chance at things, right? In baseball you get three
chances at batting, why can’t you get just two at
school? I mean think of it this way. What if you just
had to go visit your grandpa in the hospital because
you just found out he has cancer? Shouldn’t you get
a second chance if you didn’t get to your homework
because it was too late by the time you got home? I
think that teachers should accept late work because
at least you tried and turned it in.

Interesting Fact or Statistic
Dear Mr. Johnson,
Did you know that a recent district
survey showed that four out of five school
kids do not have passing grades because
they do not turn their work in on time? This
could be changed by no longer allowing late
work. Late work should no longer be
accepted at Grant Middle School.

Introduction Samples
Identify the strategy or
strategies in the following
eight introductions.

Sample 1
Imagine an old, shaggy-haired adult walks into
the classroom full of young kids working. He
slowly shuffles his way to the teacher and says,
“Ummmm… Mr. Wilson… Here’s my
assignment.”
“It’s been thirty-seven years since I gave you that
assignment. I knew I should have voted yes for
the no late homework rule.”
This is what will happen if late homework is
accepted. I say yes for the No Late Homework
rule for three reasons.

Sample 2
Dear Mr. Anderson,
Imagine you’re walking down the hall and you hear some students
talking about homework. You wait to see what they have to say.
“I didn’t do my homework last night,” says one.
“You didn’t!” gasps the other.
“No! I’ll turn it in late tomorrow, duh!”
For the rest of the day you hear similar conversations. It makes you
unhappy students aren’t doing their homework. I have a solution to
this problem; make a no late homework rule. I have several reasons
why this is a good idea.

Sample 3
Dear Mr. Banner,
My math teacher had given the whole class an
assignment that was due the next day. I didn’t turn it
in. The next day he told me it was due before 3:05
that day! Mr. Sales doesn’t take late work. It was
3:04 and the paper totally slipped my mind. So I
raced down the hallway straight, left, right, safe! I
looked at the clock – 3:05! Yes. I was safe, so I
handed Mr. Sales the paper and he threw it in the
trash. He said it was 3:05 and two seconds. My
lesson for the day was – turn in your work on time. I
believe that there are good reasons why the no late
homework policy is good for students.

Sample 4
Imagine what our society would come to if
there were no deadlines for any work that
had to be done. Businesses would go
bankrupt, the value of money would no
longer be anything of importance, and a
severe trade deficit would crash our nation’s
economy, all because of an irresponsible,
undisciplined population. That’s what the
world would come to if all children were
taught that late assignments were
acceptable.

Sample 5
“I’m sorry!”
“Sorry isn’t good enough! This assignment was due yesterday,
not today.”
Here I am on my knees begging for mercy at my teacher’s feet.
Tears forming in my eyes, I feel like an out-of-order water
fountain ready to explode! I sigh and back away like a puppy
dog with its tail between its legs. I slump back down in my red
plastic chair and stare at the metal desk. “I worked so hard,” I
mutter silently to myself. The teacher turns her back to me
and continues with the lesson.
I am against the no late homework rule because some students
do the work, but forget it at home, and others forget about the
assignment, but make it up the next day.

Sample 6
As you walk down the hall, your students are talking, texting, or
pasting spitballs on the ceiling. You walk in and give them the
sit-down-in-your-seat-or-detention-slip look, and they scramble
back to their desks like hungry hamsters. You announce
homework turn-in as you search for the turn-in box hidden
beneath the piles of papers. Almost half turn theirs in with a
self-satisfied smile.
“My dog ate mine.”
“I had a baseball game.”
“I was tired.”
“I have my homework from last week.”
This is not an uncommon occurrence. More than 50% of students
do not turn in their homework right away. This not only affects
them, but it affects their teachers. That is why it is important to
make not accepting late homework a rule.

Sample 7
Dear Mr. Fritz,
The clock doesn’t stop ticking; its time-telling hands
keep going around. Whether rushing to catch a bus
or meeting a deadline, people never stop trying to
outrun the watches on their arms. It seems that
now, more than ever, it is extremely hard for anyone
to keep up with time. So why should kids at the age
of about thirteen have to struggle to outrun time? It
is rather heartless to not accept the hard work of
someone just because they finished outside the
deadline. That is why our middle school should not
accept the “no-late-work” policy.

Sample 8
Dear Principal,
Searching through your crammed, over-stuffed
binder, the thoughts of what homework you
completed last night race around your puzzled head.
What do you mean you forgot your science
homework? In a panic, your search becomes brutal
as you tear through your papers. The science folder
is empty. Shamefully, you grab a missing
assignment slip. Turn it in tomorrow for half credit?
Not anymore. Now it’s another zero in the book;
another lowered grade. Although some may
disagree, teachers should accept late work.

Persuasive Conclusions

Persuasive Conclusions
What makes an effective conclusion?
• Clearly connects introduction and body of the
paper with insightful comments/analysis.
• Ends using one or more of the following strategies
effectively:
• Call to action
• Anecdote or scenario
• Prediction
• Wraps up the writing and gives the reader
something to think about.

Ineffective Persuasive
Conclusion
All in all I think we should not have this rule
because there is not enough time for me to
finish my homework, something could
happen to my homework, and I have better
things to do than homework. Don’t make this
a rule in our school!
(This is a restatement of the introduction as
well as a restatement of the body of the
piece.)

Strategies for Conclusions
• Call to Action
 Ask the reader to do something or to make
something happen
• Provide a solution
 Provide an answer to the problem
• Make a Prediction
 Explain what might be the consequences of
action or inaction

Call to Action – student sample
Now do you see why it’s not right to say that
teachers should not accept late work? Not
everyone is perfect and and sometimes we
students might make mistakes. But isn’t that
how we get wiser? Only you, Mr. Perez, have
the power to choose between becoming a
dictator or the president of a proud school.
Say no to no late work!

Solution – student sample
So accepting late work would be a good
idea. If you are concerned about students
that repeatedly don’t turn work in on time,
take some points off for late work or put a
limit on how late work can be turned in.
Accept late work for good reasons. Don’t
punish the innocent.

Prediction – student sample
“No late work” policies should be against the
law. They make students stressed out,
depressed, angry, and tired. If a rule as
such is adopted, no one will take part in
extra activities offered to them, the Honors
Programs will be lacking, students will be
falling asleep in class, and grades will begin
dropping. Is it really worth it?

Conclusion Samples: what’s the
technique being used?
Sample one
If we all take part in accepting this policy then it
would benefit the education experience of our
students greatly. Our children would be disciplined
to create the vital habit of taking responsibility by
finishing mandatory assignments by their due date.

Sample two
In conclusion, now imagine this. You see the same kids
talking about homework. This time one says, I didn’t
understand number thirteen, did you?”
The other says, “Yeah, this is how you do it. “
Throughout your day you hear similar conversations. You
swell with pride knowing your students do their homework. I
think that we should have a no late homework rule because
it will teach the student’s responsibility. In the future
teachers will not accept late homework; you will be taking a
burden off the staff.

Sample three
All in all, I demand that you don’t make
“no late homework” a rule because
everyone should get a second chance.
Plus, many students would fail school
which would lead to the school’s status
going down. I am against the no late
homework rule!

Sample four
When you were younger, and even today, don’t
you want a second chance at things? I mean
maybe a student’s father is terribly sick and the
student wants to go to the hospital and try to make
his dad feel better. Maybe you should just give
him a break since he is going through a hard time
in his life. Don’t you think you could help all of us
out and take some of our papers late?

Sample five
Quality work, good grades, a relaxed environment,
doesn’t that sound like a dream school? On the other
hand you could have a school with rushed work, poor
grades, and an anxious, stressful environment. I’m
sure, Mrs. O’Neill, that you can see the correct
decision very clearly. We shouldn’t have the no late
homework rule, it would completely destroy the
utopian school that we are working towards. The rule
would make us lean towards a dystopia, a school
without harmony or balance. A utopia is the way to go.

Introduction – practice
• Get with a partner.
• You will receive a copy of a paper called
Ten Minute Break.
• It is missing its introduction and
conclusion.
• With your partner, discuss possible ideas
for what you might put in the introduction.
Refer to “Effective Introductions.”

Introductions – your turn
• Now, on your own, write an introduction for the
Ten Minute Break.
• You may use any of the ideas you discussed
with your partner or new ones of your own.
• Remember that you are writing to your principal.
Think of what would be effective in writing to him
or her.
• When you are finished compare your
introduction with that of your partner.

Conclusion – practice
• Get with a partner.
• Use your copy of the paper titled Ten
Minute Break.
• With your partner, discuss possible ideas
for what you might put in the conclusion.
Refer to Effective Conclusions.

Conclusions – your turn
• Now, on your own, write a conclusion for the Ten
Minute Break.
• You may use any of the ideas you discussed
with your partner or new ones of your own.
• Remember that you are writing to your principal.
Think of what would be effective in writing to him
or her.
• Also remember what you wrote in the
introduction and connect the conclusion without
restating the introduction.
• When you are finished compare your conclusion
with that of your partner.

Persuasive Introductions & Conclusions

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