Introductions, Conclusions, Paragraphs, and Audience

1. Elements
of an
Introduction
•The Topic Sentence
•The Thesis Statement
•Supporting Sentences
•The Conclusion
Sentence

2. The Topic
Sentence
vs Thesis
Statement
• Topic sentences: used in each major
paragraph of an essay; they develop
and state the key idea of each
paragraph; help define the point of
the paragraph.
• A thesis statement: a single sentence
that defines the purpose of your
paper; informs your readers of the
purpose of your paper; after reading
it, anyone should be able to
determine what your paper is going to
prove or argue.

3. Supporting Sentences
• Several reasonable statements
• Can contain reasons, details, facts,
or a combination of the three
• Should summarize the significance
and support the content of your
essay
• Lead the reader to discover why
the content of your essay is
important

4. The Conclusion
Sentence
• Recalls the main idea and adds a
strong ending to a paragraph
• Rephrases the topic sentence using
different words, but keeps the main
idea intact
• Adds a new detail or insight about
the main idea
• Grabs the reader's attention.

5. Stay Away
From These
Types of
Openings
• Dictionary definitions
• Commenting on the writing
assignment itself
• Clichés and mixed metaphors
• Announcing what you’re doing
• Hostile tone
• Excessive flowery language
• Using untrustworthy sources
• Plagiarizing

6. GENERAL TO SPECIFIC
Throughout Western civilization, places such as the ancient Greek agora, the New England
town hall, the local church, the coffeehouse, the village square, and even the street corner
have been arenas for debate on public affairs and society. Out of thousands of such
encounters, “public opinion” slowly formed and became the context in which politics was
framed. Although the public sphere never included everyone, and by itself did not determine
the outcome of all parliamentary actions, it contributed to the spirit of dissent found in a
healthy representative democracy. Many of these public spaces remain, but they are no longer
centers for political discussion and action.They have largely been replaced by television and
other forms of media – forms that arguably isolate citizens from one another rather than
bringing them together.
– Mark Poster, “The Net as a Public Sphere”

7. OPENING WITH AN ANECDOTE
I first met Angela Carter at a dinner in honor of the Chilean writer Jose Donoso at the
home of Liz Calder, who then published all of us. My first novel was soon to be
published; it was the time of Angela’s darkest novel, The Passion of New Eve. And I
was a great fan. Mr. Donoso arrived looking like a Hispanic Buffalo Bill, complete with
silver goatee, fringed jacket and cowboy boots, and proceeded, as I saw it, to
patronize Angela terribly. His apparent ignorance of her work provoked me into a long
expostulation in which I informed him that the woman he was talking to was the most
brilliant writer in England. Angela liked that. By the end of the evening, we liked each
other, too.That was almost 18 years ago. She was the first great writer I ever met, and
she was one of the best, most loyal, most truth-telling, most inspiring friends anyone
could ever have. I cannot bear it that she is dead.
- Salman Rushdie, “Angela Carter”

8. OPENING
WITH A
QUESTION
When will international phone calls be free? Not
anytime soon, bub. But when you eventually get
your iPhone 4G, they should be included in your
rate plan. Which is weird, because it’s probably
been a long time since you nervously eyed the
clock while on the phone with your granny in
Smallville. Long distance has been all-you-can-eat
since cell phones and voice-over IP conquered the
universe. But international telephony – whether
landline, cellular, or internet-based – is still a
piggybank-rattling affair: Providers just can’t offer
dirt-cheap calls across borders.
- Cliff Kuang, “Burning Question”

9. OPENING WITH A STRONG OPINION
I have not always loved Dr. King. In the sixties I could not
understand his reaching beyond race to stand on
principle. I could not understand, or support, his own
example of “nonviolence.”There was so much I didn’t
know!
-June Jordan, Some of Us Did Not Die

10. Drawing Conclusions

11. Specific to General

18. Valerie Steele's anecdotal tone and dialogue in the opening sentences
of her essay on fashion in academia prepare the reader for her thesis:
Once, when I was a graduate student at Yale, a history professor
asked me about my dissertation. "I'm writing about fashion," I said.
“That's interesting. Italian or German?“
It took me a couple of minutes, as thoughts of Armani flashed through
my mind, but finally I realized what he meant. "Not fascism," I said.
"Fashion. As in Paris.“
"Oh." There was a long silence, and then, without another word, he
turned and walked away.
Fashion still has the power to reduce many academics to
embarrassed or indignant silence. Some of those to whom I spoke
while preparing this article requested anonymity or even refused to
address the subject. ("The F-Word." Lingua Franca April 1991: 17–
18.)

19. Newspapers and magazines produced for the
average reader tend to require much shorter
paragraphs than those published in academic
journals. When evaluating how you have
structured your ideas, pay attention to whether
you have varied the length of your paragraphs.
Long chunks of text without paragraph breaks
tend to make ideas seem complicated, perhaps
even inaccessible to the average reader. In turn,
short paragraphs can create a list-like style,
which intrudes on clarity and persuasive
appeal. Because long paragraphs tend to make a
document more complicated than short
paragraphs, you should consider how your
audience will perceive the structure of your
essay.

20. Christensen considers the following paragraph, which he
excerpted from Jacob Bronowski's The Common Sense of
Science, to be an example of a subordinate pattern
because the sentences become increasingly more specific
as the reader progresses through the paragraph:
1. The process of learning is essential to our lives.
2. All higher animals seek it deliberately.
3. They are inquisitive and they experiment.
4. An experiment is a sort of harmless trial run of some
action which we shall have to make in the real world;
and this, whether it is made in the laboratory by
scientists or by fox-cubs outside their earth.
5. The scientist experiments and the cub plays; both are
learning to correct their errors of judgment in a
setting in which errors are not fatal.
6. Perhaps this is what gives them both their air of
happiness and freedom in these activities.

21. Christensen is quick to point out that not all paragraphs
have a subordinate structure. The following one, which he
took from Bergen Evans's Comfortable Words, is an example
of what Christensen considers a coordinate sequence:
1. He [the native speaker] may, of course, speak a form of
English that marks him as coming from a rural or an
unread group.
2. But if he doesn't mind being so marked, there's no
reason why he should change.
3. Samuel Johnson kept a Staffordshire burr in his speech
all his life.
4. In Burns' mouth the despised lowland Scots dialect
served just as well as the "correct" English spoken by
ten million of his southern contemporaries.
5. Lincoln's vocabulary and his way of pronouncing certain
words were sneered at by many better educated people
at the time, but he seemed to be able to use the English
language as effectively as his critics.

22. To compare: also, likewise, similarly
To contrast: however, nevertheless,
conversely
To show cause and effect: as a result,
consequently, therefore
To show a logical relationship: since,
therefore, for this reason
To present a sequence of events: next, and
then, first/second/third
To illustrate or provide an example: for
example, for instance, for one thing
To add information: furthermore,
additionally, moreover

23. AUDIEN
CE

24. ARE YOU INVITING
READERS IN OR ARE
YOU LEAVING THEM
OUT?

25. from “Emergent Predictors of Hepatitis C
Infection Among Non-Injection Drug Users”
by Sheila a. Teles, et. al.:
• The chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test (two-tailed)
was used for categorical data. For all tests, a p value
<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Logistic
Binary regression analysis was used to determine risk
factors associated with HCV infection. Variables with a
p value ≤0.20 were included in the multivariate
model, adjusted by population. Analyses were
performed with the statistical software SPSS. All
analyses were two-sided.

26. from a pamphlet of frequently asked questions
about Hepatitis C created by the Los Angeles
County Department of Public Health:
Who is at risk for hepatitis C?
Anyone can get hepatitis C, but you may be at higher
risk if you:
Were born between 1945-1965
Received donated blood or organs before 1992
Have ever injected drugs with a needle or syringe
Have certain medical conditions like HIV or kidney
disease
Have had sexual contact with an infected partner
Got body piercings or tattoos in informal or

27. DR. BENJAMIN
SPOCK – BABY AND
CHILD CARE,
PUBLISHED IN 1948
“WHEN YOU SUGGEST SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T
APPEAL TO YOUR BABY, HE FEELS HE MUST ASSERT
HIMSELF. HIS NATURE TELLS HIM TO. HE JUST SAYS
‘NO’ IN WORDS OR ACTIONS, EVEN ABOUT THINGS
THAT HE LIKES TO DO. THE PSYCHOLOGISTS CALL IT
‘NEGATIVISM’; MOTHERS CALL IT ‘THAT TERRIBLE
NO STAGE.’ BUT STOP AND THINK WHAT WOULD
HAPPEN TO HIM IF HE NEVER FELT LIKE SAYING ‘NO.’
HE’D BECOME A ROBOT, A MECHANICAL MAN. YOU
WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO
BOSS HIM ALL THE TIME, AND HE’D STOP LEARNING
AND DEVELOPING. WHEN HE WAS OLD ENOUGH TO
GO OUT INTO THE WORLD, TO SCHOOL AND LATER
TO WORK, EVERYBODY ELSE WOULD TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF HIM, TOO. HE’D NEVER BE GOOD

28. CONSIDE
R:
• HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR
AUDIENCE? HOW DO THEY DIFFER FROM YOU?
CONSIDER THEIR BACKGROUND.
• WILL THEY UNDERSTAND YOUR REFERENCES?
• WHAT DOES YOUR AUDIENCE ALREADY KNOW?
DO THEY NEED MORE INFORMATION?