Opening and Concluding Paragraphs

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Opening and Concluding Paragraphs

• First Impressions
• and
• Final Thoughts

WS 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which
the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
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Intro Paragraphs
ATTENTION GRABBER
Next two (at least) sentences about the
novel/play or topic
The middle sentences smoothly transition the
reader from the Attention Grabber to the
Thesis. An intro paragraph should be about 4
sentences
CLAIM/THESIS STATEMENT Contains your
subject/topic and Two arguable points
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Attention GrabberStrategies

• 1. The Outside Connection
• 2. The Global Statement
• 3. Using a Quote
• 4. An Anecdote
• 5. The Straw Man
• 6. Simile/Metaphor
• Wait, isnt there one missing?????

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What about using a Question?

• DONT DO THIS - EVER!
• Usually the question is not answered
• Sometimes it even includes second person
• Ex Have you ever wondered what it would be like
  to be lonely? In Of Mice and Men
• Also, do not use a command
• Imagine, being the only one left on
  earth.

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Strategy 1 The Outside Connection

• Starts with broad statement about the
  subject/topic that relates to your thesis
• Give example from current news, other literature,
  science, significant people, or other history
  that relates to this theme.
• Dont connect to pop culture or anything that
  seems out of character (No Justin Bieber
  connections)
• Transition into your thesis clearly to avoid
  confusing the reader.

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The Outside ConnectionExample
A locust swarm only truly begins when just one
gets hungry. A single specimen will release a
pheromone that spreads like fire throughout every
locust in a radius of miles and thus the
nightmarish, omnivorous swarm begins, devouring
everything in sight.
Broad Theme

• The same can be said of human beings people
• mimic each other, taking cues from others actions
• justifying their own crimes with the sins of
  others. Culture
• is, in the end, a set of rules and that game is
  won by those
• who know how to play.

Transition

Those who understand the social rules of a
group will fit in the best because conformity
invariably leads to acceptance and humans are
naturally sound animals who will develop systems
to regulate each others behavior.
Claim/Thesis Topic is rules and behavior
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The Outside ConnectionExample

• The mentor archetype spans from
  Greek epics to modern novels.

Broad AG
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout
matures into a well-rounded young woman due to
the influence of several guiding figures.
Transition to the literature you are focusing on
In This Other Novel, the mentor teaches the
protagonist that
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Strategy 2 Global Statement

• Start with a broad statement and then narrow
  toward your thesis.
• Similar setup to Outside Connection.
• Very versatile works in a variety of
  situations.
• Dont be too broad or vague, and avoid absolute
  statements or sweeping generalizations.

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Global StatementExample

• For generations, parents, religion, and
  schools have had a monopoly on morality.

Broad
From these three sources, children traditionally
acquired their ideas about what is right and
wrong, which goals are important in life, and how
other should be treated.
Narrowing
More Narrowing
Today, the media
has become another powerful force influencing
young people.
Television is implanting in children negative
values about sex, work, and family life.
Claim/Thesis
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Strategy 3 Using a Quote

• Always include a lead (TLQ) into the quote as
  well as a citation.
• Avoid quoting the literature that the essay will
  be about, or re-using a prompt quote
• Instead, quote a famous speaker, another novel,
  or other credible source. Also give some ethos-
  context to your speaker in your lead-in.

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Using a QuoteExample
Lead into Quote
Noted philosopher Aristotle once said,
Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but
when separated from law and justice, he is the
worst of all.
Without societal controls that regulate behavior,
there is nothing in this world more dangerous
than human beings. In William Goldings novel
Lord of the Flies, the schoolboys on the island
have been released from the tether of
civilization and are about to discover their own
propensity for evil.
Transition
The worst
of them is Jack, the head choir boy, who changes
from
Thesis
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Strategy 4 Anecdote

• A brief story that relates to your thesis, no
  more than a few sentences.
• Unless its a personal essay, no first person.
• Transition clearly from the anecdote into your
  thesis.

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Using an AnecdoteExample

• At a Michigan high school, the student body
  nominated Whitney Kropp, an awkward sophomore,
  for Homecoming Court. Without considering the
  humiliation that she might feel or how the town
  would react, Whitneys classmates congratulated
  themselves not only on their sense of humor but
  their ability to pull off a coordinated prank.

Anecdote
The students actions illustrate the cruelty that
a large group can inflict on a single, vulnerable
individual. In William Goldings Lord of the
Flies, the schoolboys, stranded on a deserted
island, prey upon Piggy, who has been made a
scapegoat for many of the same reasons.
Transition
Thesis
Piggy discovers that

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Strategy 5 Straw Man

• Begin with an idea that is the opposite of your
  true position. Then prove it wrong.
• Be sure to clearly transition from the false
  idea to your true position!

What kind of essay might this strategy work well
for?
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Using Straw ManExample

• People hear a great deal about divorces
  disastrous impact on children. They are
  bombarded with advice on how to make divorce as
  painless as possible for their offspring, and
  numerous heartbreaking stories about the
  confused, grieving children of divorced parents
  abound. Little attention has been paid, however,
  to a different effect that divorce may have on
  young people, for children of divorced parents
  may become skilled manipulators, playing off one
  parent against the other, worsening an already
  painful situation. In Making Them Pay, a novel
  by

False
False To True
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Strategy 6 Simile or Metaphor

• Create a simile or metaphor for the subject or
  topic that you are writing about.
• Make sure you can still have 2 sentences
  afterwards to create further context for your
  simile/metaphor, as well as connect your
  simile/metaphor to your thesis.

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Using a Simile/MetaphorExample
Simile/ Metaphor
The past can oftentimes be like a black
hole that drags its victims into a never-ending
pit of despair and darkness. For many, dwelling
on past mistakes, hardships, and painful memories
can succeed in hindering them from living in the
present.
Dwelling too much on the past, therefore, can
have negative consequences that impede people
from moving on to brighter futures.
Transition
Thus, memories hinder peoples progress by .
Thesis
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Finish your Thesis Statement before you attempt
your Attention Grabber. Then, think
backward.Does your thesis remind you of
something, spark an idea?Which strategy will
work best?
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Concluding Paragraphs

• Final Thoughts

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Concluding Paragraph

• Restate argument in different words.
• Reflect upon or extend what was already stated in
  the body of the essay or the AG/hook.

Then
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Concluding Paragraph

• Restate thesis in different words.
• Reflect upon or extend what was already stated in
  the body of the essay or the hook.
• Include a universal statement, like a reverse
  global statement.
• Last sentence should be insightful Something
  newperhaps one final piece of commentary on the
  topic/subject that you wrote about.

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Concluding ParagraphLast Sentence
The last sentence is largely dependent on the
hook in the opening paragraph. Imagine this is
your VEHICLE. Try to exit the same car in which
you started your journey.
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Final Thoughts

• THINK about what you WRITE!
• That means if it sounds lame, dont write it!
• Does what you wrote add value?
• Does it relate directly back to the thesis?
• Does it relate to the topic sentence?
• Is the topic sentence arguable?

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Final Thoughts

• Too much of ANYTHING gets BORING.
• That means the same word, phrasing, sentence
  beginning, TLQ, or anything else for that matter.
• Variety is the key.

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CLASS ASSIGNMENT

1. On a separate sheet of paper, create an opening
   paragraph using one of the six strategies.
2. You will be given a thesis statement and you will
   do the rest.
3. The class will vote on the best opening
   paragraph and some changes will be made. (Winner
   gets a prize) ?
4. Everyone will then write this paragraph in their
   journal.

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Open-Ended Practice Prompt

• Prompt Do memories hinder or help people in
  their effort to learn from the past and succeed
  in the present? Support your argument with
  appropriate evidence from your readings,,
  observations,, and/or experiences.
  subject/topic opinion two
  arguable points
• Thesis Statement Memories help people to learn
  from the past and succeed in the present by
  enabling them to learn from past mistakes, and by
  preventing them from making similar mistakes in
  the future.

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Open-Ended Practice Prompt

• Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents
  which in prosperous circumstances would have lain
  dormant.
• --Horace
• Consider this quotation about adversity from the
  Roman poet Horace. Then write an essay that
  defends, challenges, or qualifies Horaces
  assertion about the role that adversity
  (financial or political hardship, dander,
  misfortune, etc.) plays in developing a persons
  character. Support your argument with appropriate
  evidence from your reading, observation, or
  experience.
• subject/topic opinion two arguable
• points
• Thesis Statement Adversity can enhance a
  persons character by enabling them to become
  more resilient and better able to adapt to lifes
  changes.