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13 Introductions and Conclusions

Introductions and conclusions serve specific purposes in academic essays. The following infographic provides strategies for developing them in terms of what the paragraphs are doing, along with what the sentences are doing.

Alt Text: introductions and conclusions purpose and structure: Introductions and conclusions are challenging to write. However, understanding their purpose and structure helps to address those challenges. The hourglass shape provides a visual in terms of the broadness versus specificity of an introduction and conclusion. Think of your analysis as the middle in which you’re dissecting specific evidence i.e. examining the grains of sand. An hourglass shape with introduction writing strategies is at the top of the page, analysis is at the center, and conclusion writing strategies at the bottom. Introductions section: Introductions present your argument by beginning broadly and ending specifically. Hook your reader and begin broadly in order to bring them into the world of your essay. Who is your audience? What knowledge do they bring to the table? Establish common ground and state a perspective that a typical reader would agree with. What do you and your audience have in common? What do they need to know in order to see that? Establish a vocabulary in order to contextualize your specific topic. What specific vocabulary do they need to understand your argument? Explain the specific intellectual problem you intend to investigate in your essay; state your purpose. What is your topic? What unique perspective do you provide on it? How might that surprise your reader? State your thesis. What is your central argument? How might your readers engage in a debate with you? Analysis section: Analysis is ALWAYS specific as you dissect and closely examine granular details. Conclusions section: Conclusions synthesize your argument by beginning specifically and ending broadly. Conclusions synthesize your argument by beginning specifically and ending broadly. Restate your more informed thesis. What insight did your analysis bring to the intellectual problem? Explain how you accomplished your specific purpose. How did your analysis address the intellectual problem? What might have surprised your reader? Re-establish common ground. How do you want them to see the intellectual problem that you explored differently now that they have read your essay? Answer the “So, what?” question. Speak broadly and explain how your analysis is relevant beyond the world of your essay. How do you want them to see the world differently now that they have read your essay? Consider ending with a bold statement and/or a call to action. What do you want them to do in the world now that they have read your essay? Created by Rachael M. Benavidez and Christopher John Williams.Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

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College Writing I Copyright © by Rachael Benavidez is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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