INTRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS Tips, tricks, and general know-how

What does a good introduction need? A hook A bit of background on the main text A thesis statement

Hooks Applicable quotes Startling facts Universal idea Vivid description of setting

Applicable quotes Charles B. Rangel said, “The promise of the American Dream requires that we are all provided an equal opportunity to participate in and contribute to our nation”.

Startling facts Nearly two hundred citizens were arrested as witches during the Salem witch scare of Eventually nineteen were hanged, and another was pressed to death (Marks 65).

Universal idea The terrifying scenes a soldier experiences on the front probably follow him throughout his life—if he manages to survive the war.

Vivid description of setting Sleepy Maycomb, like other Southern towns, suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Poverty reaches from the privileged families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” Ewells, who live on the outskirts of town. Harper Lee paints a vivid picture of life in this humid Alabama town where tempers and bigotry explode into conflict.

Background on the text Give us the gist—not too much, but enough to remind us what the book is, essentially, about. Where/when is it set? Who are the characters? What is the story?

Thesis Statement This can act as a transition for you, as you’ll mention the topic of your first paragraph naturally, but you don’t have to use it at the end. As long as it appears in your introduction, you are golden DO NOT USE IT AS A HOOK. IT IS NOT A HOOK.

Conclusions It’s best to approach your conclusion in steps: First reread your essay. Get a feel for what you have successfully proven. Then consider: why does this matter, anyway? Why would Steinbeck devote an entire book to proving this point? Then try to bring your audience somewhere fresh, and leave them thinking

Leaving them thinking The tricky part, yes? The point of it all is to look at your argument from a different angle, and bring one aspect of it to light—an aspect that will tie your reader to the argument or make it more applicable to this day and age A conclusion should bring it all to a close in a way that leaves the reader reflective

Example: Thesis: Dr. Seuss’s The Butter Battle Book is an allegory created to show the self-destructive nature of the arms race of the Cold War. Through the grandfather, The Boys in the Back Room, and the Chief Yookaroo, Seuss shows how blind obedience to one’s country, indulgence in reckless experimentation, and reliance on intimidation tactics assures mutual destruction for any countries involved. Conclusion: Dr. Seuss’s The Butter Battle Book is an allegory, and through characters like the grandfather, The Boys in the Back Room, and the Chief Yookaroo, Seuss shows how the people of the United States, leaders; scientists; and citizens included, perpetuated an arms race that could only end in self-destruction. The reason that Dr. Seuss publishes his findings, not in a scientific magazine, or on a government forum, but in a children’s book, speaks to the importance of the text as a whole. It is not, after all, the scientists or world leaders who were in greatest danger by the end of the book, but rather the pawn that these political and academic giants burdened with their plans and discoveries. Through this book, Dr. Seuss speaks directly to the American people in a form that every citizen can understand because he realizes that true victims of reckless scientific advancement and arms races are the citizens themselves. Only if we are aware of the effects of such practices can we resist the encouragement of our leaders and the temptation of being part of scientific and national history. Seuss invites us to walk away from the rewards and laurels that more powerful people might dangle before us, and to recognize that becoming a pawn in a situation like the Cold War carries about as much honor and significance as annihilating a nation of people for eating their bread differently. Regardless of who survives and which nations are able to sit at some historically-significant table drawing up a treaty, the pawns that were sacrificed for the name of progress or nationalism are reduced to nothing but fading smears on a crumbling wall. This children’s book then, is a warning, for the citizens of the United States of America, and any countries that might become engaged in such a war: in the last moments before self-destruction, it is the citizens that will take the blunt of the blow.