Introduction and Conclusion
Paragraphs
“The Landlady”
The Introduction
• The introduction has a “hook or grabber” to catch
the reader’s attention. Some “grabbers” include
opening with a: strong statement/headline
• Quotation
• Anecdote/story
• Statistic/fact
• Rhetorical question
• Dialogue/conversation
Shocking Statement/headline
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Opening with a strong statement:
(17 year old found stuffed in Bath, England)
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17 year old found stuffed in Bath!
Pun= play on words (bath vs. Bath)
Bridge/link
This could be a headline in a newspaper telling of the death
of the protagonist, Billy Weaver. The author Roald Dahl
creates a terrific short story using both foreshadowing and
irony to create suspense and to amuse the reader.
Open with a strong
statement/headline
17 year old last seen in Bath, England.
Link/bridge:
This could be the headline in the Bath
newspaper about Billy Weaver.
Now write the thesis:
The author Roald Dahl in the short story “The
Landlady” employs foreshadowing to create
suspense and irony to amuse the reader.
Intro. example
– 17 year old found stuffed in Bath!
This could be a headline in a newspaper
telling of the death of the protagonist, Billy
Weaver. The author Roald Dahl creates a
terrific short story using both foreshadowing
and irony to create suspense and to amuse the
reader.
Quotation
Opening with a quotation from the story or
something related.
“Truth is stranger than fiction,” said Mark Twain.
In the case of “The Landlady”
Twain would say fiction is stranger than truth.
Now write your thesis:
Quotation
“The supreme irony of life is that no
one gets out alive.”
Link: Billy Weaver does not get out
alive, even though he looks lively.
The author Roald Dahl in the short
story “The Landlady” employs
foreshadowing to create suspense
and irony to amuse the reader.
Anecdote/Story
• The little boy did not come home school. His
mother called the police by 5 p.m. He was
never heard from again.
• Link: Billy Weaver in “The Landlady” also goes
missing. The author Roald Dahl in the short
story “The Landlady” employs
foreshadowing to create suspense and irony
to amuse the reader.
anecdote
A store that sold stuffed animals once had
a stuffed man for sale. When questioned
about it, the owner insisted it was fake, but it
looked so real. What a terrific place to hide a
body. Just like in the short story“ The
Landlady” by Roald Dahl; the murderer
preserves the body for eternity. Dahl creates a
wonderful short story through the use of
foreshadowing and irony.
Statistic or fact
• 800,000 children are reported missing each year.
• Over 2,000 children each day are reported
missing.
• (link) Billy Weaver is just one of these children
who disappears, never to be heard from again.
The author Roald Dahl in the short story “The
Landlady” employs foreshadowing to create
suspense and irony to amuse the reader.
Dialogue/conversation
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“Have your heard from Billy Weaver?”
“No, He never showed up to his meeting.”
“He’s probably drunk in some pub.”
Link: Billy Weaver in “The Landlady” only
wishes he had stayed at a pub. The author
Roald Dahl in the short story “The Landlady”
employs foreshadowing to create suspense
and irony to amuse the reader.
Rhetorical Question
• What does a serial killer look like?
(Link:) Most would say a terrifying, creepy man;
this is not the case in “The Landlady” The
author Roald Dahl in the short story “The
Landlady” employs the literary elements of
foreshadowing to create suspense and irony
to add a humorous tone.
Examples of a link, bridge, or transition
to thesis
• Caught your interest? Read “The Landlady” by Roald
Dahl.
• In the case of “The Landlady” fiction is stranger than
truth.
• Like this little boy, the protagonist, Billy Weaver, in
“The Landlady” will never be heard from again.
• Billy Weaver is just another statistic in the short story
“The Landlady” by Roald Dahl.
Conclusion
Conclusion Paragraph (4 sentences)
Restate thesis in an original way.
Answers how or why this is true.
Give advice, or a recommendation, or a
universal application on the subject.
Go full circle. Relates back to your introduction.
Restate thesis in a new way
• The author Roald Dahl in the short story “The
Landlady” employs foreshadowing to create
suspense and irony to amuse the reader.
• Change the above thesis to sound new and
fresh.
Answer how or why the thesis is true.
• Why is “The Landlady” a wonderful story?
Go universal or give advice
• How does this thesis relate to all stories?
• What advice would you give someone visiting
a bed and breakfast?
Go full circle
• If you began you essay with something, end
with the same idea.
• Example: Intro: Over 2,000 children go
missing every day.
• End essay with: Poor Billy is just one of many
who disappears each year.