PARAGRAPHS:
INTRODUCTION, CONCLUSION, REVISION:
THE NITTY-GRITTY TRUTH
THE INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH
This is Always Paragraph #1 of a complete essay and must include the following information
organized effectively. The information does not necessarily have to be in the order presented;
however, you should check this list against your Introduction paragraph to ensure this information is
included in your Introduction paragraph:
Hook – one interesting idea, fact or question that may not be related to your discussion points
Identify the Author and Title of the work analyzed
For an analysis of a specific character, identify the character and describe her/him briefly
Thesis Statement – General or Specific – identify the primary social issues you will discuss. Identify
them generally or specifically, one by one.
SAMPLE:
Eating cookies is a great pastime when one is involved in a tedious task such as reading
homework assignments. However, this activity may not be well-suited for a task that requires
rigorous action such as riding a bicycle. Nevertheless, a choice is clearly made as to whether one does
or does not eat a cookie, irrespective of the activity. The same is true for people when they interact
with or choose to isolate themselves from social groups such as neighbors, colleagues and people at a
local grocery store. Emily Grierson may not be a name familiar to a great deal of people; however,
when paired with the man who created her, William Faulkner, people tend to recognize who she is
and why some people do, in fact, know her as the central character in his well-read short story, “A
Prof. Gordon – ICR HT 1
Rose for Emily”. As a recluse who was the talk of the town, Emily may not have been aware of her
popularity; however, her actions created an air of mystery that piqued more than one person’s strong
reaction to her life and the circumstances surrounding her death.
CHECKLIST – DOES THIS PARAGRAPH INCLUDE THE INFORMATION ON THE CHECK
LIST PROVIDED?
THE CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH
A Conclusion Paragraph must restate your thesis without using the copy/paste function to teleport the
thesis written in the Introduction paragraph to this paragraph. Therefore, the restated thesis from the
Introduction will be written in a different format: If it was written as a specific thesis statement in the
Introduction, it will be written as a general thesis statement in the Conclusion. Conversely, the thesis
statement was written as a general thesis statement in the Introduction paragraph, it will be written as
a specific thesis statement in the Conclusion paragraph. The Conclusion paragraph must indicate
actions one can take that will help others become more aware of the issues presented. Finally, the
Conclusion paragraph must provide several forms of mass communication that will further propel the
issues presented in the paper or essay into the spotlight for the masses to become aware of the issues.
SAMPLE:
Isolation: is it deliberate or unintentional? Emily Grierson poses a great question to which
many relate because the 21st century is presenting new ways of interacting with the masses while
preventing such interaction at the same time. The people who are most likely build a relationship, coworkers, neighbors, common-interest groups and people at the neighborhood grocery store, seem to
be preoccupied with electronics instead of each other’s well-being. Then, when a tragedy strikes, such
as an unexpected death, people become curious about a lifestyle to which they could have been an
Prof. Gordon – ICR HT 2
active member had they taken the time and made efforts in that vain. To prevent such an unnecessary
life experience such as isolation, media provides socialization that is pseudo social interaction.
Instead of hitting the keyboard on a computer or smartphone, people should join book clubs, knitting
groups or community garden activities to remove the cloak of loneliness from their lives. Posters,
flyers and informational meetings that provide details about the advantages of such gatherings can
help others become aware of their own potential isolated lives and spur them to reach out to people
with whom they are already familiar.
CHECKLIST: DOES THIS SAMPLE PROVIDE INFORMATION REQUIRE AND IS IT
ORGANIZED EFFECTIVELY?
REVISIONS: THE KEY TO WRITING SUCCESS
THE KEY to successful writing, irrespective of the type of writing and the purpose for
writing, is the revision process. Read your paper aloud. Read your paper word for word. Ask
someone to read your paper aloud to you as you follow along with a copy of your paper. Participating
in these activities will help you see what you may have left out. It may also help you ‘hear’ the
awkward constructs of your sentences. It may also help you ‘hear’ that you wrote something but
meant something entirely different. Submitting work to the askonline tutoring resource is also a great
tool: ask the tutors to review your work for your specific areas of concern: grammar, punctuation, etc.
Constructing, organizing and writing an essay long before the due date, either paragraph by paragraph
or in one fell swoop, will provide ample time for reviewing and revising your work. Thus, the
‘crunch-time’ or ‘crammed’ written work are things of the past for you, as are the bad grades and the
need for revisions. Don’t forget to Have Fun!
Prof. Gordon – ICR HT 3