Course Companions

Introductions

Introductions: Introductions serve to grab readers’ interest, introduce your topic, and explain specifically what you will be focusing on in your essay.

Introductions should:

• Begin in an interesting way
• Start with a general idea about the topic and end with a specific statement about the focus of the paper (thesis statement). Use a funnel approach by starting broad and getting more narrow by the thesis.
• Have a thesis statement that begins with a claim or statement and exactly why you are writing about this claim or what you will be focusing about the claim (so what clause).

Introductions should not:

• Only be a sentence or two long. Introductions should be full paragraphs (5-6 sentences).
• Begin with the thesis statement. The thesis statement should be the last sentence (or two) of the introduction paragraph.
• Have wording like: “In this paper, I will write about” or “I will focus on” be specific, but do not spell out the obvious. (Remember to be interesting to the reader!)

Conclusions

Conclusions: Conclusions need to wrap up all of the main ideas talked about in the essay and show how all of the main points relate back to the thesis to help prove the claim that the thesis suggests. (The main points are the “so what” clause, and in the conclusion, writers need to sum up how the “so what” clause relates to the claim.) Make sure to stick with the main ideas and do not introduce any new points.

Conclusions should:

• Begin in an interesting way that serves to begin to tie up the main points.
• Should have a summary of each main idea that the essay talks about.
• Show how these ideas relate to the thesis statement
• End in a way that comes full circle and ties up all loose ends

Conclusions should not:

• Begin with “In Conclusion”
• Introduce any new ideas
• End abruptly
• Leave the reader wondering how the main ideas relate to the thesis
• Only be a sentence or two long.  Conclusions should be full paragraphs.

Outlining

Grammar and Punctuation Support

More information is available on the Grammar Guidelines and Punctuation Guidelines pages. 

Sample Paragraph Development Strategies

Races Strategy

This method reminds readers to do the following.

• R - Restate: Restate the question or assignment prompt in your own words.
• A - Answer: Provide a clear answer to the question or the prompt.
• C - Cite: Cite all resources and examples you provide to support your points. 
• E - Explain: Explain how the sources and examples support the point you are making. 
• S - Summarize: Summarize your main points and bring your writing to a memorable conclusion. 

MEAL Plan Strategy

Revising and Editing

No New Materials This Week

Spend time this week

• Completing any unfinished work.
• Reviewing your document
• Attending a group session.
• Practicing self-care. 

Developing a PowerPoint Presentation

Developing a Poster Presentation

A poster presentation is a visual presentation of your research that often includes a concise display of the abstract, purpose, method, significant literature, results, and graphs or tables. 

Use Your Rubrics! - Understand Your Assignment