Introductions and Conclusions Social Studies Writing Series #6 Introduction Conclusion

Remember: An Essay is like a Tour To go on a tour, you need a _________ (= introduction) After you get off the tour, you still have __________ (= conclusion)

Introductions

Introduction = Ticket What do you need on a ticket? What (Subject) When (Time) Where (Place)

Find the subject, time and place on each ticket

What makes a good intro? Catches the reader’s attention Sets the stage for what’s in the essay Narrows to a thesis Makes the reader want to keep reading

Strategy #1 Choose any school-appropriate movie or TV show and view just the opening sequence (before the title appears) Have students identify the subject, time, and place for the movie Have students predict what the movie will be about (What are the clues they use?) Suggestions: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Simpsons, Princess and the Frog, etc.

Strategy #2 Choose an Essential Question from a curriculum bundle Have students write an introduction to that Essential Question which includes the subject, time, and place (but not the thesis statement)

Strategy #3 Have an introduction contest For any essay that you assign, have each class choose the best 2-3 introductions for that class Post the introductions (without names) in the cafeteria or hallway and give each student in that team or grade level one sticker dot to place on the introduction he/she likes the best Alternate suggestion: Ask your principal or AP to act as the judge for the best introduction

Strategy #4 For any essay assigned, choose a student’s introduction which could be improved (do this anonymously!) In small groups or as a whole class, rewrite the introduction so that it includes subject, time and place, uses strong verbs and descriptive adjectives, and invites the reader to continue reading

Strategy #5 Choose several introductions from an assigned essay and remove names Divide introductions among groups and ask the groups to describe how they would film this introduction, if they were movie directors –Which actors would they use? –What would each of the costumes look like? –What would be in the background? –What would the characters say and do?

Strategy #6 Using the thesis statements from previous trainings, practice writing introductions See handout

Conclusions

Memories = Conclusion We can think about memories in terms of a scrapbook. What were the pictures and stories that capture the most important parts of your trip? Pictures – Important moments Stories – What did you learn on your tour? What were the highlights? What will you remember?

What makes a good conclusion? Restates the thesis with new words Pulls the body paragraphs back together Explains why the essay is important to know Has a clincher statement that answers the question “So what?”

Strategy #1 Give each student 4 conclusions and ask them to score the conclusions using the rubric (next slide) The AP Vertical Teams Guide for Social Studies has sample conclusions on p. 149 Use conclusions from student essays from a previous or current year and remove names

Strategy #1 Conclusion Scoring Guidelines 0 – Not present 1 – Present but flawed and incomplete 2 – Present 3 – Present and sophisticated Score _____ Reinforces thesis Score _____ Synthesizes/summarizes essay in a new way Score _____ Answers the question “So what?” Writer’s name ________________________________ Evaluator’s name _____________________________

Strategy #2 Locate the handout “Conclusion Practice” Choose 4 thesis statements and do the following: –Restate the thesis –Answer the question “So What?”

Strategy #3 For any essay assigned, choose a student’s conclusion which could be improved (do this anonymously!) In small groups or as a whole class, rewrite the conclusion so that it includes a restatement of the thesis, a synthesis of the topic statemnts, and an answer to the question “So what?”