Introductions Remember that the overall goal of your introduction is to orient your reader and provide useful framing for the body of your essay. Your introduction should end with your thesis. You need to introduce every essential element of your thesis. Essential elements are marked by an asterisk: I* would [not] recommend [video title]* by [channel name]* to [specific audience]* [, but/although…]

Introductions A note on thesis statements: Most likely you will have to qualify your thesis statement based on your evaluation. In your initial thesis try to hint at the appropriate audience for the video (beginners, experienced; have equipment, do not have equipment; have ingredients, do not have ingredients). Your initial thesis should also hint at potential problems (steps unclear; difficult steps).

Introductions A safe way to introduce your essay is by using a personal narrative about how you first learned about the channel or how you first got interested in what your video teaches. It is possible that you have already written that. You would move that part of your personal narrative to your introduction and edit it, but you would keep part of your personal narrative in the body of your essay.

Conclusions Your conclusion should have two overall goals: Reinforce your thesis Give a sense of completeness to your essay Do not introduce material in your conclusion that affects your recommendation. Judgements about this material should appear in the evaluation part of your essay before the conclusion, and the material in the evaluation part of the essay should be presented earlier in the essay.

Conclusions To create a sense of completeness in your conclusion you can refer to your personal narrative. “I would recommend” or “I would not recommend” is a continuation of your narrative.

Conclusions The most detailed statement of your thesis should appear at the beginning of your conclusion. The most detailed statement accounts for your own experience and briefly addresses the experiences written in the comments of people who have used the video. While your initial thesis hints at potential problems and appropriate audiences, the closing thesis states the problems directly and identifies the appropriate audience.