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Week Two Lecture

Writing – The Beginning and the End

Writing is very similar to speech making in that you have an introduction, body and conclusion whether it is a research paper, essay, report. The purposes and ways to begin and end a paper are very similar. The purpose of this lecture is to identify four purposes of the introduction in writing and to share examples to make those purposes happen. In addition I will be talking about two purposes in concluding a paper as well as some things that are not appropriate in the conclusion of a paper.

There are at least four things to be accomplished in the introduction to a paper: 1) capture the attention of the audience; 2) establish credibility and good will; 3) reveal the topic and 4) preview the topic.

THE INTRODUCTION

Capture the Attention of the Audience

This first step might be called establishing the “hook”. There is nothing less imaginative then to begin a paper with a statement like, “My paper is going to cover the following information”. That is not a hook. So the writer must determine a way to draw the readers that will instill in them a desire to continue to read. There are a number of ways to accomplish this purpose. You might begin with a startling statement. For example, “Did you know that 75% of people who die in car crashes leave the car during the crash”? This would be an introductory statement on a paper describing the importance of wearing seatbelts. Another option would be to begin with a question, “Do you know that 80% of serious injurious of children when they ride their bicycles are when they do not wear their helmets”? Guess what the topic is going to be? You might consider telling a joke to begin your paper. I think it would be helpful for the joke to have something to do with the topic under consideration. A writer might also consider using statistics to draw an audience in. It is important to use statistics that are true, relevant, up to date and from reliable sources....