Campus Writing Center
Southern Connecticut State University
Tips for writers: introductions and conclusions
Academic essays customarily have special paragraphs with specific functions at the
beginning and the end of the essay. These are called, appropriately enough, the
introduction and the conclusion.
Introduction
The introduction has two purposes: to get the reader interested in going beyond the
introduction and to present the thesis.
In assigned writing, one is assured of at least one reader- the instructor. Yet a writer
should not take this assurance to mean that the reader is going to want to go beyond the
introduction. A dull piece of writing starts out as a dull piece of writing, and this sort of
beginning influences strongly the way in which the reader receives and responds to the
writing. Rather, an accomplished writer devises a strategy to get the reader excited, or at
least interested in continuing. This device is sometimes referred to as the “hook.”
Several strategies are available. A writer may begin with a brief, applicable anecdote;
s/he might use a memorable short quote; s/he might provide some startling statistics or
facts. Any one or combination of these, if used adroitly, should guarantee a stirring of
interest in the essay. Another possibility is what is sometimes called a “turnabout,” by
which the reader is set up to expect a certain result or conclusion, but then is surprised by
an unexpected, yet completely realistic and logical, turn of thought.
The second chief function of the introduction provides a context for the thesis. Necessary
background might be included or the reason for the piece of writing might be offered
within the strategy devised by the writer. The thesis is most often highlighted either as
the opening statement or as the concluding statement of the introduction. (See “Tips for
writers: thesis sentence” for advice about writing the thesis.)
The introduction may be drafted at the start of the composing process, but it need not be
done first. In fact, one tactic for getting beyond writer’s block is to begin with the topic
paragraphs (or body of the essay) and to write the introduction after you have a better
“feel” for your essay. All paragraphs will be reviewed and revised later, of course.
Conclusion
If we think of the introduction as the greeting in a conversation, we may think of the
conclusion as the way of saying good-bye. No essay should be without a conclusion just
as no polite conversation is without a gracious leave-taking.
Strategies for the conclusion include the posing of a rhetorical question or two to keep the
reader thinking about the topic; a restatement of the thesis, best done only in longer
essays and in different words; an evaluation that reflects the thesis; and, if the purpose of
the essay is consistent with it, a call for action. The conclusion should never, however,
open a new line of thought. Its function is to conclude, after all, not to introduce again.