1. Introductions and conclusions, Transitions, & Tone.
Editing for Style
Introductions and conclusions,
Transitions, &
Tone.

2. The wonder twins: introductions and conclusions
Not just paragraphs that occur at the beginning and the end of a paper, introductions and conclusions form a dynamic partnership that encloses and enhances an argument.
While you may usually write the introduction first, that’s not necessarily the only way or the best way to write and revise your paper.
Go back to your introduction when you’re finished your paper. Then, it’s easier to know how and what to revise. In other words, write all the way to your conclusion, and you’ll have a better understanding of what your introduction should be about.

3. introductions The lead sentence: AVOID AMBIGUOUS, VAGUE PHRASES.
“in today’s society...” the dreaded opening phrase
“Have you ever...?”
“Imagine...”
Instead, start with analysis. Give your reader something to think about

4. One approach: Taylor your introduction to fit your conclusion!
If the conclusion delivers an answer to a question, raise that question (restated as an issue, preferably) in your introduction.
If your conclusion raises new, but related issues, or examines the significance of what has been explored in your essay (as good conclusions do), these elements can help a writer craft an opening that anticipates the main point without giving the game away.

5. In conclusion, to sum up, In summary, Thus we see...
These words splat on the page like a... (I’ll revise my simile later). They don’t add to your tone or to your argument, and they leave the reader feeling weary.

6. Conclusions
Your reader will know you’re concluding by the fact that there are no more pages left!
Concentrate instead on a transition that engages the main idea, and improves the fit.
Think about the tone of your whole essay when deciding how to introduce and conclude your ideas.
Ask yourself... “SO WHAT??”

7. To Quote or Not to Quote (in introductions and conclusions)
It’s fine to open or close with a quotation, if the quotation amplifies the main point or puts things in perspective. Too often a closing or opening quotation has a “so what?” effect – either the reader doesn’t know why you chose that quotation because it doesn’t seem related, or it restates a point already established.

8. transitions

9. Tying it all together
First, ensure that your paragraphs are in the right order. Read your topic sentence for each paragraph, and ensure that your ideas are logically connected.
If the logic is there, transitions are easy, because the logic of each paragraph will carry you naturally into the next.

10. Like a woman wearing too much makeup,
an essay that uses stock transitions like “firstly,” “lastly” and “in addition” might simply be trying to cosmetically conceal an underlying fundamental problem.
It’s your ideas that need to be tied together. You don’t need to point out to your reader (trust me, she’s not an idiot!) what order your ideas are in.
Likewise, similarly, in addition, consequently, accordingly, admittedly, although, indeed, chiefly, and many others are useful – especially to tie ideas within paragraphs together. But there’s no substitute for a coherent organization of your paragraphs themselves and of the sequence in which you place them

11. TONE: it’s like colour Audience
You know you’re writing in part for a teacher or professor, but whom else is the target for your ideas?
Subject
Is your essay formal or informal? Academic and scholarly or more relaxed?

12. DIDLS Diction Imagery Details Language Syntax
These are the various ways that writers create and maintain TONE.

13. DICTION:
POWER VERBS can ensure that you’re maintaining a scholarly and academic tone while ensuring that your aim and focus remains analysis rather than summary. Avoid ready-made, washed out phrasing. Choose rhetorical devices and strategies that engage your reader.

14. Be ware of fancy, pompous words
Do you really want to use “plethora” when “too many” will do? Simple, concrete words can achieve great power when placed in a strong, lean sentence.
Avoid vague words. A word such as “thing” isn’t helpful, especially when you mean something more specific, a situation, an event, or a statement. Use words that tell us what you really mean, not words that obscure your meaning.
If you hear a phrase all the time (“the bottom line”), or see it again and again in newspapers and magazines or on the Web, it’s probably a cliché. Come up with something more original. Consider it a challenge!