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Introductions & Conclusions

There is no formula for writing effective introductions and conclusions—but below I
have listed some strategies that you may find helpful.

What Should an Introduction Do?

 An introduction has two main purposes – to catch the reader’s interest and to
indicate the subject of the paper. It needs to perform both of these purposed
smoothly, as an awkward introduction will only confuse your reader. Be sure to
engage your reader as quickly as possible and to orient them to your attitude toward
your subject. Your introduction should draw your readers into your paper and
―convince‖ them to continue reading it.

 Your introduction should also, of course, include your thesis statement, as well
as set out a “roadmap” for your reader. Your thesis statement, usually the last
sentence or two of the introduction, should be a clearly articulated statement
outlining the specific argument that the rest of your paper will develop. Be the time
your reader finishes reading your introduction, they should know what you are going
to argue and should have an understanding of how you are going to prove your
argument.

 Do not think of your introduction as an ―umbrella‖ paragraph under which all other
points of your essay must fall. Rather, think of your introduction as a “doorway”
to the more involved analysis and evidence you provide in the rest of your
paper. Make sure that the points that you raise in your introduction relate directly to
the subject of your paper. This is not the place to make broad generalizations about
society, the world, human beings, etc

 If you find writing your introduction difficult, try writing it last – sometimes it is
easier to write your introduction after you have written the body of your paper.
Often, an effective introduction will be easier to write after you have developed your
ideas during the course of writing the paper itself.

What Should a Conclusion Do?

Unfortunately, there is no formula for writing conclusions. It is one of the hardest things to
do well. Some strategies you might find useful are listed below:

 Don’t just repeat what you’ve already said

If your conclusion says almost exactly the same thing as your introduction, it may
indicate that you have not done enough critical thinking during the course of your
essay (since you ended up right back where you started). By the end of your essay,
you should have worked through your ideas enough so that your reader understands
what you have argued and is ready to hear the larger point (i.e. the big ―so what?‖)
you want to make about your topic. Your conclusion should create a sense of
development or movement to a more complex understanding of the subject of your
paper.

 Try to pull everything together

Your conclusion should serve as the climax of your paper. So, save your strongest
analytical points for the end of your essay, and use them to drive your conclusion.

Courtesy the Odegaard Writing & Research Center

http://www.depts.washington.edu/owrc
Adapted from UW Expository Writing Program handouts
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 Don’t be afraid to say something new

It is fine to introduce new information or quotations in your conclusion, as long as
the new points grow from your argument. New points might be more general,
answering the ―so what‖ question; they might be quite specific. Just avoid making
new claims that need additional support

 Go out with a “bang”

Vivid, concrete language is as important in a conclusion as it is elsewhere—perhaps
more essential, since the conclusion determines the reader’s final impression of your
essay. Do not leave them with the impression that your argument was vague or
unsure.

Take a look at five different conclusions that could grow from the same introduction. How
has the author maintained continuity and/or developed the argument from the introduction?
How was the author developed a focus over the course of the essay? What impression does
each conclusion leave you with as a reader?

Introduction
We all know that textbooks dry history out completely, dehydrating the gripping stories and critical conflicts
of the past to a dusty piece of history leather—tough, nasty, and hard to digest. As I reviewed three
accounts of expansion in the western United States, I found some signs of life in the desert; compared to
the texts I reviewed for our last adoption, the new textbooks offered more complete accounts and stronger
analysis of the interactions between settlers and Native Americans, race and gender dynamics in the west,
and the role of the federal government in all phases of western settlement. We have a much more palatable
assortment of facts for our students to chew on, but is it any more substantial? Here, I question which of
these texts will allow us to teach not just the facts but the skills—reading, writing, questioning, and thinking
critically—which we as a committee have decided should take precedence in our classes.

Question
Which of these texts is best? The colorful pictures and graphics, the clear prose, the primary documents all
have their appeal. But these tasty morsels distract us from asking the real question—what are we teaching
for? If we want our students to think like historians, then Land of the Free’s liberal use of primary
documents, the very same documents historians use to construct the past, makes it our best choice.

Quotation
To inspire critical thinking, we need materials that can help us move beyond the textbooks and engage our
students’ creativity. Of the three texts I reviewed, only Oh Say Can You See included a variety of
supplementary materials to spice up our classes, from primary documents and historical film clips to art
slides and CD-Roms. In short, the variety of extra resources makes this textbook our best option, for it
allows us the potential to revise John F. Kennedy’s famous plea, ―ask not what your textbook can do for you,
ask what you can do for your textbook.‖

Vivid Image
I remember what made history matter to me; as a high school student, I found the diary my grandmother
kept during the depression. I carried that little leather-bound book with me everywhere, poring over its
contents, seeking connections between my family’s past, my country’s past, and myself. If we want to
inspire our students to move from memorizing facts to developing an interest in history, I recommend A
More Perfect Union as our choice. This text’s attention to emotionally touching photographs and personal
stories of the west offers us the best hope of enabling our students to make a personal connection with the
past.

Call to Action/Connecting to Larger Issues

Clearly, all three of the textbooks currently up for adoption have major flaws—but is it our responsibility to
take these foundlings in and spend hours of quality time working with them? Instead of squandering our
economic clout on these sub-standard texts, we can protest. Let’s delay the adoption until next year and
lobby the textbook companies to give us what we want—textbooks that will give us history colored in all of
its complexity, conflict, and compromise. In this way, perhaps we can inspire our students as well.

Courtesy the Odegaard Writing & Research Center

http://www.depts.washington.edu/owrc
Adapted from UW Expository Writing Program handouts