{draw:frame} Introductions and conclusions
The assignments you will undertake in university will require you to write in a well structured way. Nearly all forms of writing require the structure of beginning (introduction), middle (main body), and end (concl*usion).
Use this guide for i*ntroductions* and conclusions*, along with the Paragraphs** guide (for main body paragraph structure), to learn how to structure your writing so that it makes sense in the most effective way.
Introductions
A good introduction will give the reader a clear indication of what the piece will contain (i.e. what will follow in the main body and conclusion).
Written well, the introduction will make the reader want to read on. In any case, it should allow the reader to make a decision as to whether what follows is relevant to them. It should prepare the reader for what follows. However, an introduction should be mainly viewed as an introduction to the essay rather than the subject as such. Laying the background is part of the main body development of the argument and so should appear there.
Below are two introductions to an essay addressing the question, ‘Should boxing be banned on medical grounds?’ Which one is the better one and why? Compare your comments to ours below.
B Boxing is an archaic sport which has no place in a modern society. It should be banned because people get killed. Anyone who wants to watch two people beat each other unconscious is uncivilised. There are lots of other reasons why boxing should be banned too.
The Essay on Understanding The Bible: A Basic Introduction To Biblical Interpretation
Religion is a powerful tool in the world today, with different people ascribing to diverse religious beliefs. Religion defines the ways of life and culture of people; hence, emphasizing its influence among different people in the world (Kalman, 2009). Religions have features and elements that guide their faithful on how to live according to the precepts of the respective religion. Christianity is ...
Top tips for introductions:
Be sure to signpost the main areas that will follow in the main body of the essay i.e. introduce the essay
Give an idea of the overall conclusion you have come to
Leave background or foundation points to the beginning of the main body
Conclusions
A good essay will have a main body where the main points are made. In other words, this is the section where the step by step argument narrows down to the final conclusion – from the general (background) to the particular (the final closing points).
These points will have already been signposted in the introduction. For our purposes we will assume that Introduction A is our essay’s opening paragraph and that the question remains the same. Therefore, a good conclusion will summarise the main points made in the main body and state how they come together to answer the question.
Which conclusion do you think is the better one and why?
A It does not seem to me that the medical bodies have enough evidence for a ban on medical grounds. Who has the right to ban things? Who has the right to tell others what to do? I think, therefore, that a ban should not happen.
B The medical reasons for the banning of boxing have centred on the likelihood of injury and death. The statistics on deaths, however, have shown that participants in boxing are less likely to be killed than participants in other sports which attract no such criticisms. The pro banning arguments that these statistics do not take into account serious but non-fatal injury such as brain damage are also inconclusive as convincing statistics for this do not exist and much more research is required in order to produce these. A powerful argument by the pro boxing lobby is that underlying the medical arguments is a strong moral revulsion to the activity which gives rise to the question ‘who has the right to decide these issues?’ Anyone attempting to take the ‘moral high ground’ runs the risk of being accused of infringing on individual autonomy and the right to make one’s own decisions and take one’s own risks. On these grounds a ban on boxing should wait until more conclusive medical evidence is gained and then a debate should occur as to whether this is enough to infringe on people’s activities and cause a ban.
The Review on The main point
In this paper, a book review will be given on the book written by Andrew Gelman entitled Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State: Why Americans Vote the What They Do which basically talks about the nature and state of American elections. The main argument of the author is that political myths relating to color divide which signifies culture war are not true. In other words, Gelman debunked ...
Conclusion B is the better one. This is not just because it is longer, although Conclusion A is definitely too short. Conclusion B goes back over the main points signposted in the introduction (introduction A) which would have then, had this been a real essay, been covered in the main body. This is why Conclusion A is so short, because it has not adequately summarised the main points and based the final answer to the question upon them. A much more authoritative conclusion is one that is based upon the points made in the essay which are in turn based upon sound (and referenced) evidence. The problem, therefore, with the first conclusion is that it appears to be based purely on the author’s individual opinion and this is also exacerbated by the use of the personal pronoun (i.e. the word ‘I’).
Never introduce new evidence in a conclusion. Base your final addressing of the question on the points already made in the main body and signposted in the introduction.
Because the conclusion addresses a single purpose (or has a single point i.e. answering the question) it should be a single paragraph.
A conclusion can be a good way to check your essay. If you have summarised your main points, and these come together to fully address the question, then you should have a good essay!
Andy Gould, Division of Learning Enhancement, Access and Partnership
University of Greenwich 2007
