1. Mr. White’s History Class
Writing a Research Paper – Part 4: Introduction, Conclusion, and Body Paragraphs
Mr. White’s History Class

2. Objectives What do we want to know how to do? Write an introduction
Write a conclusion
Write body paragraphs

3. Paragraphs – What are they?
To understand how to write a paragraph, we must first understand what a paragraph’s purpose is.
A paragraph is a collection of related sentences that deals with a single topic (Purdue OWL).
A paragraph is not determined by length.

4. What makes a paragraph? A paragraph has the following qualities:
Unity – stick to one topic
Coherence – the paragraph is understandable to the reader
A topic sentence – this tells the reader what the paragraph will talk about
Adequate development (what determines if a paragraph is “long” enough):
The topic should be discussed fully and adequately
Two or three sentences is probably not enough – it probably doesn’t develop the idea fully and adaquately
Taken from Purdue Online Writing Lab

5. Section 1: Introductions
What the purpose of an introduction is, how to write it.

6. Introductions - Purpose
The purpose of an introduction is to give to the reader:
Your main thesis question, topic, area of comparison, etc.
Your thesis statement – a statement describing what you’ve found through your research
A general overview of how you will take the reader to your eventual conclusion
Briefly explain what kinds of smaller questions you will ask
Briefly explain what types of information you will provide to support your opinion
It does not need to be limited to a paragraph – it can be several paragraphs, or even a whole chapter (in the case of a book)

7. How to write an introduction
Start with a “hook” – an interesting statement or question that grabs the reader’s interest (it doesn’t have to be too fancy) and is related to your topic
Introduce your thesis question and thesis statement by stating them directly
Explain to the reader how you will use your research to support your thesis statement

8. Section 2: Conclusions
What the purpose of a conclusion is, how to write it.

9. Conclusion - Purpose The purpose of a conclusion is:
To restate your thesis
To recap and retrace for the reader how you went about proving it, and the evidence you presented
To bring a logical conclusion to your paper
As with an introduction, a conclusion is not limited to a paragraph – it can be several paragraphs or even a chapter

10. How to Write a Conclusion
Restate your original question and thesis to the reader.
Briefly retrace and summarize the major arguments and evidence you presented to prove your main point
Explain how those points support your main idea.

11. Section 3: Body Paragraphs
What the purpose of a body paragraph is, how to write one.

12. Body Paragraph - Purpose
The purpose of a body paragraph is to introduce pieces of information, explain them, and use them to support your main idea.
A body paragraph will use a piece of information that you’ve gathered, explain it further, give your own interpretation, and tie it into the main idea
Body paragraphs should have a logic to their organization
Chronological – sequence of events
Topical – different topics
Compare and contrast

13. How to Write a Body Paragraph
It’s best to know beforehand how you want to organize your paper – chronologically, topically, compare and contrast, etc.
Use your notecards to organize your evidence and support based on your paper organization
Once you’ve organized your notecards, use one or more pieces of evidence in each to create your body paragraphs
In the body paragraphs:
Present the evidence
Evaluate the evidence (how useful/valuable it is)
Explain how the evidence supports your main point
Logically conclude the paragraph – make sure you complete the idea

14. In-text Citations
When you use evidence from other sources for your paper, you must use in-text citations.
There are three basic types of in-text citations
Paraphrasing – taking information and rephrasing it
Short quotation – shorter than 40 words
Long quotation – longer than 40 words
For an in-text citation, you must have three things:
The name of the author (if available)
The year of publication (if available)
The page number (if available)

15. Citing
When paraphrasing, place the in-text citation at the end of the evidence you’re citing, in parentheses, in the following format:
(White, 2004, p.4)
It is suggested that you also include the page number, but it is not required
Exceptions
If there is no author available, put the title from your references list - (The Mongol Military, 2004)
If there is no publication date, simply list all other information - (The Mongol Military, p.4)
If there is no pagination, it is not necessary to include it – (White, 2004)

16. Assignment
Make sure:
Your introduction, conclusion, and body paragraph all meet the conditions above
Your introduction and conclusion are closely related, and outline where your paper will go

17. Sources
“Paragraphs and Paragraphing.” Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue University. Web. 30 Nov