Here’s your Patrick Henry College Prep Academy
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A How-to-Write-a-Paper Resource from Master Teacher
Erin Brown Conroy, MA…from the
AP English Language and Composition course
Enjoy this reading from Week 14 of our course…
“Smooth Introductions and Dynamic Conclusions”
Creating a Smooth Introduction
Your introduction is perhaps the trickiest part of any writing assignment. In fact, writing
an introduction is as tricky as launching a kite. You need to grab your reader, release the
ideas with a rush, reel out the string, and get the paper into the sky—all in a way that’s
smooth and (at least looks) easy. When the launch works, it’s a delight to experience.
Your Thesis Statement
Before you write a single word of an introduction paragraph, you need to have your thesis
statement in hand. Your thesis is the final sentence of your introduction; it is the final set
up sentence that takes the reader into the body of your paper. We’ve already talked in the
course about creating a robust thesis statement. So put your fabulous thesis to the side,
ready to go at a moment’s notice. We’ll need it in a minute.
A Logical Way to Create a Hook
The kite’s grab-and-release is the hook. To logically create a great hook for your work,
follow five steps:
1. First think, what is the bottom line of my paper? Write it down. The bottom line is
the “so what”—the one point that you’re trying to make, that you want your
reader to walk away with. The bottom line will be close to the thesis, but it can be
more simply written, more direct than the thesis. (By the way, unless you’re
writing research, where you don’t know the outcome of your topic because you
haven’t found all of the source information yet, you’ll need your bottom line for
two reasons: first, to keep you on track as you’re writing and, second, to
effectively craft your conclusion.)
2. Next, out of that bottom line, create a one-word or one-phrase headline. Your
headline captures the broad, general idea of your main point. It’s not like the
headline of a newspaper article; it’s more of a banner word (or words) that shout
out the key idea. Write it down.
PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY
Phone: 540-338-8290 · Email: [email protected] · Website: www.phcprep.org
Here’s your Patrick Henry College Prep Academy
Free Download
A How-to-Write-a-Paper Resource from Master Teacher
Erin Brown Conroy, MA…from the
AP English Language and Composition course
Enjoy this reading from Week 14 of our course…
3. Now, think of the tone that you want your reader to feel, at the start of your paper.
Do you want your reader to smile? To feel good? To be shaken into seriousness?
To gasp with surprise? To be put on high alert? Write down the desired tone and
reaction.
4. Looking at the bottom line, headline, and tone, you can now think of the type of
hook that you want to use or create. Would a stately quote fit the character of your
opening best? How about a silly story? Or a startling statistic? Your bottom line,
headline, and tone will point you in the right direction
You should now have your hook and thesis statement.
The Next Step
The kite’s reeling-out of string is the creation of the transition sentences between the
hook and the thesis. Reeling out the string is tough. Reel out too fast, and the kite loses
control. Reel out too slow, the string gets super-tight, and the tension on the string can
make it break. You’ll need to find a steady pace, to give the kite a smooth release.
Likewise, to smoothly connect your hook to your thesis, the pace of content is
everything. Move too fast and you lose the reader; the reader thinks, how did we get
here? Did I miss something? Move too slow, the reader thinks, where are you going with
this? What’s the point? Do I really need to know all the extra, here?
The first transition sentence after the hook has to in some way tell the reader why in the
world you used that particular hook. What was the meaning of the hook? How does the
hook tie into your meaning? Don’t leave the reader wondering. Make the connection.
Your second and third transition sentences have to be progressively more distinct, more
direct, and more detailed. You’re funneling the reader down into your most precise
sentence: the thesis. Here’s where linear writing is key. Sentence structure, choice of
words, sentence length: All have to take the reader on a ride without jerks or loops.
Check for Bumps
Here’s a tip for checking over your transition sentences: Once you believe that you have
PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY
Phone: 540-338-8290 · Email: [email protected] · Website: www.phcprep.org
Here’s your Patrick Henry College Prep Academy
Free Download
A How-to-Write-a-Paper Resource from Master Teacher
Erin Brown Conroy, MA…from the
AP English Language and Composition course
Enjoy this reading from Week 14 of our course…
had your first go at the introduction’s sentences (and your first ideas are in place), write
the sentences that you’ve come up with on strips of paper. Lay the strips out, from top to
bottom—hook on the top, thesis on the bottom. (If you don’t want to have fun with
scissors, you can write the sentences on a piece of paper, one sentence to a line. Me, I like
to have fun with it.) Now, with sentences laid out, compare the content. Is each line
progressively detailed? Compare the sentence length. Does each line add to the
momentum toward the thesis? If you used a lighter tone with your hook, does the tone get
progressively more serious as you approach the thesis? Oftentimes, the sentence-strip
approach makes an improper word or phrase pop out. Then it’s easy to see what changes
need to take place—to make the introduction smooth and seemingly-effortless.
As you’re reworking your introduction paragraph, another must-do is to read the
paragraph out loud. Read it out lout to yourself. Read it out lout do someone else. Have
someone else read it out loud to you. Such speak-and-hear repetition helps you realize
what needs to change, to create a smooth introduction.
Take Your Time
There’s no doubt about it: You have a lot to pack into the tight little introduction package
of about 150-250 words. That’s why the introduction can take a long time to write.
Rework the introduction, and if something’s not working, don’t be afraid to throw it out.
If the kite has a bad cross stick, get a new one. Good writers are ready and willing to let
go of whatever’s not working. You can only let the kite soar if every piece is strong and
in good working order.
Finishing with a Dynamic Conclusion
When to Write
When writing a paper, the last bit that you write is the conclusion. Why is that so? It’s
because, when writing, a paper can take an unexpected turn. Getting back to our
analogy….Kites can find an updraft and take an unexpected leap into the sky. Likewise,
if you get a great idea, you’ll want to go with it. If your conclusion is written already,
you’ll have to fit your content into a preconceived notion. Don’t place such constrictions
on the writing process. Have a general idea, but save the time of writing the conclusion to
last.
PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY
Phone: 540-338-8290 · Email: [email protected] · Website: www.phcprep.org
Here’s your Patrick Henry College Prep Academy
Free Download
A How-to-Write-a-Paper Resource from Master Teacher
Erin Brown Conroy, MA…from the
AP English Language and Composition course
Enjoy this reading from Week 14 of our course…
The Process
The process of writing the conclusion is much like the process of writing the
introduction. You can logically work through the conclusion in steps.
You are going to craft the first line of your conclusion paragraph first. But before we do,
we have to go back to the introduction. Do you remember the bottom line of the paper
that we crafted, while writing the introduction? Take out that bottom line and place it on
the table. Look at that bottom line statement; then look at where your paper ended. The
last line of your paper so far should lead directly into your bottom line. Yes, your final
paragraph begins with the bottom-line thought. It should be the answer to your reader’s
internal state after reading the whole paper. Your first line final thought is dynamic,
strong, and concise.
Next, you are going to decide the future behavior or applicable understanding that you
want the reader to tuck under his arm and leave with. Think of your reader. He or she is
sitting there, after reading the paper, waiting for a directive. What action that you want
the reader to take? Do you want the reader to make a specific step in a particular
direction? Do you want him to feel stirred to take action? Do you want her to remember a
key thought that forever changes her attitude toward your topic? That’s the content of
your final sentence.
Now, in the same way that you wrote transition sentences in your introduction, you’re
going to write a transition in your conclusion paragraph—from the first sentence to the
last. But the process is backwards from the introduction. Instead of starting broad and
getting narrow (up to your specific-and-direct content in the thesis), you’re going to start
narrow and become broad. As with the introduction, your sentences progress in a linear
way…but now, the sentences open up in scope and application.
Summary
Most conclusions summarize key ideas. Notice that I didn’t say directly copy the main
points of your outline (verbatim). Simply spitting back the main points of your outline is
quite boring for the reader—and can be an insult to the reader’s intelligence, as well.
Instead, you’ll want to make statements that recap and bridge across the original outline’s
points.
PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY
Phone: 540-338-8290 · Email: [email protected] · Website: www.phcprep.org
Here’s your Patrick Henry College Prep Academy
Free Download
A How-to-Write-a-Paper Resource from Master Teacher
Erin Brown Conroy, MA…from the
AP English Language and Composition course
Enjoy this reading from Week 14 of our course…
The Goal
You’re getting ready to have your reader go home with something that was satisfying.
You want the reader to walk away with a single thought: “Now that was good.” Your
reader wants to pull the kite in those last few feet from its ride the sky, to grasp its frame
with both hands, hold the kite fondly to their chest, and then walk off into the sunset with
a smile on their face. The only way such warmhearted feelings emerge is to have your
reader feel the “so what” so strongly, he or she is changed from reading your work.
That’s the goal of your well-written conclusion.
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PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY
Phone: 540-338-8290 · Email: [email protected] · Website: www.phcprep.org