1. Drafting: Writing Introductions and Conclusions
Writing your introduction
Capture your audience’s attention
Set the right tone
Present your thesis
Writing your conclusion
Your Turn 1: Write introductions
Your Turn 2: Write a conclusion

2. Introduction A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
—Lao-tzu
The beginning of or introduction to your composition is where the reader starts his or her journey with you.
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
—William Shakespeare
The ending of or conclusion to your composition is where the reader and your ideas part ways.

3. Writing your introduction Capture your audience’s attention
Have you ever heard someone described as “great— once you get to know him”? First impressions are important. What first impressions do these people give?

4. Writing your introduction Capture your audience’s attention
To draw your readers in immediately, try beginning your introduction with one of the following attention-getting techniques:
Yes, there are actually techniques to get the attention of the reader

5. Writing your introduction Capture your audience’s attention
Tell an anecdote (a short, personal story). Readers are often more interested in a topic when they can see the human side of it.
Susan, a 14 year old Freshman, had a nervous breakdown right after a week of standardized testing.

6. Writing your introduction Capture your audience’s attention
Start with an interesting quotation. Many people—famous and ordinary alike—have probably made interesting comments that relate to your topic.
“If my future were to be determined by a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee that” Michelle Obama

7. Give an interesting statistic
Survey: 70 Percent Of Educators Say State Assessments Not Developmentally Appropriate

8. Writing your introduction Present your thesis
A writer often ends an introduction by presenting his or her thesis to the reader.
Presenting your thesis just before the body of your paper is like telling your reader, “Now that I’ve got your attention, here’s an idea of what you’re going to be reading about.”

9. Writing your conclusion
The conclusion of a piece of writing is just as important as the introduction. Your conclusion is your last chance to influence and make an impression on your readers.
Your conclusion should
tie your ideas together
make a strong impression
give your reader a sense of completion

10. Writing your conclusion
One way to tie all of your ideas together is to restate your thesis and summarize your main points. Don’t repeat the same words and sentences; find new ways to express your ideas.
So then, standardized testing is bad for children because it is not fair to everyone, are not aligned with real life needs and takes away teaching time. Testing should be on a sample set of students and should be more like video games.

11. Writing your conclusion
End with a final thought. Give your readers a thoughtful comment, a personal reaction, or an insight that ties your ideas both to the readers’ experience and to the world in general.
It will be interesting to see if
educators can change testing to be more beneficial to students

12. Writing your conclusion
restatement of thesis
final thought

13. Your Turn 1: Write introductions
Write two short introductions for your research paper. In each, use a different attention-getting technique from the list below. Be sure to set an appropriate tone and introduce your thesis.
address the reader directly
tell an anecdote
Give an interesting statistic
give a quotation that relates to your topic
define a key word that is important to understanding your thesis

14. Your Turn 2: Write a conclusion
Write a conclusion to your research paper. Use at least one of the strategies below.
Restate the thesis and summarize the main points.
Answer the question “So what?”
Leave readers with a final thought.

15. The End