Introductions, Previews,
Conclusions, Transitions, and
Thesis Statements
Mr. Sanders
09/26/13
• We have 4 straight days of PPT notes in here,
then we are pretty much done for the
semester. Really!
• 2 days of attention getters, transitions, and
conclusions to strengthen the outline (the
skeleton)
• 2 days of literary elements to strengthen the
body (meat)
• Before we start, did anyone analyze their
friends/family in terms of communication
styles?
• Circles?
• Squares?
• Triangles?
• Rhombus?
– What category did your friends/family fall under?
Is this the same category as you?
Seriously? Who cares?
• Purpose: The effect of a speech depends heavily
on how you greet the audience, how you leave
the audience, and how your speech hangs
together. Therefore you must put time and effort
into introductions, conclusions, and transitions.
• Note: You can not get an A, B, or C on the 3
biggest grades in here or pass the Final Exam if
you do not pay attention today! I expect you to
know this information VERY well. We will use
this information EVERY DAY!
Big Idea #1: Why we have
“Introductions”
• Introduction has three purposes…
– Gain Attention – Convince your audience that you
are going to be good at this!
– Present your topic and purpose – You should
preview your main points by the end of your Intro
– Connect with your audience – You must come
across as interested in your topic and your
listeners POV
8 Types of Introductions (1-4)
• Startling Statement – “Jesse is a normal threeyear-old child except for one thing: she is the
victim of child abuse.”
• Rhetorical Question – “What do Albert Einstein,
Cher, and Tom Cruise have in common? They
have all overcome dyslexia.”
• Humor – “What ten letter word starts with G-A-S?
It’s automobile and this year we may run short
again.”
• Quotation – Put a quotation at the beginning and
end that relate to your theme.
Write your own AGD:
Topic = Economy, Star Wars, or Pets
• Startling statement
– The US is $_______ in debt. That means that….
• Rhetorical question
• Humor
• Quotation
• Write 5 AGD’s using one of each type, NERDS!
– Topic ideas: Music, Current events, Football, or
Robots
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Startling statement
Rhetorical question
Humor
Quotation
Personal Experience
Introductions (5-8) (5-7 =similar)
• 5-Story – “Many years ago, a stranger arrived in our
town. He wore ragged clothes and carried a walking
stick. It turns out this homeless man was my father!”
• 6-Personal Experience – “Who would want to spend
hours in the blazing sun digging carefully in the dirt
with a small spoon? I did.”
• 7-Example – “Anne Graves, age four, died from a
gunshot wound to the chest. Her killer was shocked
and heartbroken. He was her six-year-old brother, who
had found a loaded gun.”
• Reference to occasion – “Thank you for having me
here. I am very pleased to present this award to…”
Bell Ringer
• Looking at your previous examples of AGD’s
– Write down one original example of each one you
missed. If you don’t know how to do these, you
most likely will not do well on your next 50 point
assignment.
AGD 5-8 practice
Topic: _______
• Story –
• Personal Experience –
• Example –
• Reference to occasion -
Using one of the 8 AGD’s you just
learned, Re-write this Introduction,
playas!
• “I’m going to talk to you today about
something I find interesting. I’ve been
interested in this for a long time. Most of you
should find it interesting, too. You may have
seen dolphins at the zoo. My topic today will
be on communication with dolphins.” – THIS IS
NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE. FIX THIS.
• Write your own example.
• Share examples with people around you, then
with the class.
Big Idea #2: Why we have
“Conclusions” 3 purposes
• Summarize your main points
• Repeat your main goal
• Provide a clear ending – Don’t leave the
listeners wondering whether the speech is
over. Give a final decisive statement.
3 types of Conclusions
– Summary/Review Statement – THIS MUST
HAPPEN AS THE FIRST SENTENCE OF EVERY
CONCLUSION. “So today we examined 1st, 2nd,
3rd…”
• Quotation – Just like my mom always said,
“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never
know what you’re going to get.”
• Appeal / Challenge – Asking or motivating the
audience to do something – “Please
remember that seat belts save lives and
prevent serious injury. Buckle up!”
• Story – Connecting your AGD story to your
Big Idea #3: Preview/Review
Statement
• Preview Statement: comes directly after your
thesis statement.
• “So today we will examine 1st…., 2nd….. And
finally….
• Review Statement: comes directly after the
last line in your final body paragraph.
• “So today we examined 1st…,2nd…and finally…”
• I expect you to know and apply this on every
speech from here on out.
PRACTICE IT!!!
– Why are these poor examples?
• “So today we looked at Dolphins. Okay, I’m
done.”
• “As we learned today, Dolphin communication
is awesome communication. And that’s my
speech.”
– Write your own conclusion to your dolphin AGD
(Attention Getting Device) from earlier, but make
them better than these two.
Big Idea #4: Thesis Statements
(C+B+R)
• A sentence or two that describes the main idea of
your speech and main argument that you are
trying to make.
• Claim + Because + Reason = Good Thesis
Statement
• Claim = “Sexist language in textbooks is harmful.”
• Insert the word “BECAUSE”
• Reason = “it reinforces negative stereotypes
about many groups and individuals.”
Thesis practice
• Write 3 thesis statements choosing from 6 of these
topics.
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Space Travel
Today’s fashion
Adoption
Missing children
Teenage life
Sports in school
Big Idea #5: Transitions
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Meanwhile,
First,
Second,
Also,
Next,
As a result,
In addition to,
Transitions
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Moving to,
For example,
On the contrary,
To sum up,
Another point,
On the other hand,
Conversely,
Transitions
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In contrast,
In conclusion,
In the second place,
Furthermore,
Finally,
Therefore,