Openings and Closings

This is Unit Nineteen of College Composition. Unit Eighteen revised a draft for its reader. This unit revises the two places that reader notices most: where the paper begins and where it ends. Carry one idea through this lecture. An introduction and a conclusion each have work to do, and a sentence that does none of that work can go, however polished it sounds. A worked example at the end tests every sentence of a weak introduction that way. By the end you will be able to build an introduction from hook to thesis. To write a conclusion that does more than restate. To give a paper a clear, descriptive title. And to revise openings and closings so they frame the same argument.

Five entries on introductions: what they do, hooks, context, fit, and building one in sequence.

Beyond grabbing attention.

CMP 0451 What an Introduction Does

Beyond grabbing attention, an introduction names the central issue, gives needed background, and leads to the thesis. A strong opening gives readers their first clues about the subject and the writer's stance, and in academic writing it often ends with the thesis. An opening that entertains but never reaches the issue leaves readers unsure what the paper is about.

Ways to draw readers in.

CMP 0452 Hooks That Fit

Openings can draw readers in with a conflict, a specific detail or statistic, a quotation, a question or an anecdote. A dramatic statistic shows the writer knows the subject; an anecdote sets a scene; a conflict creates suspense about how it will resolve. Whatever the hook, it must be credible and must connect to the topic; drama for its own sake misleads.

Background before the claim.

CMP 0453 Context Before Thesis

After the opening hook, an introduction provides the background readers need before they can understand the thesis. An introduction about cars and daily life might give a brief history of how many cars and paved roads existed a century ago before stating its claim. Background should be brief and selective; the introduction leads to the thesis, it does not replace the body.

Fitting the opening.

CMP 0454 Openings That Fit

An opening fits when it puts the topic in useful context for the reader and suits the genre and purpose. An anecdote suits reflective or personal writing; a specific statistic suits a report; a conflict suits an argument about a disputed issue. A clever opening that points readers toward the wrong subject costs more than it gains.

A reliable sequence.

CMP 0455 Building an Introduction

An introduction can be built in a reliable sequence: engage, orient, then state the thesis. Open with a hook suited to the genre: a conflict, a fact, a quotation, a question or a brief anecdote. Orient the reader with the who, what, when, where, why and how they need, and give only the background the thesis depends on. Narrow from context to the specific issue, then state the thesis, usually last. In the Handbook's example, an anecdote about an older woman who cannot enter a salon without a cell phone leads to a thesis about seniors left behind by technology.

Five entries on conclusions and titles.

The final chance.

CMP 0456 What a Conclusion Does

A conclusion is the final chance to make the paper's point stick, by reinforcing what readers have read. A satisfying conclusion leaves readers with a clear understanding of the argument and, ideally, a new perspective on the topic. A conclusion that only stops leaves readers to decide what the paper meant.

Restating is not enough.

CMP 0457 Beyond Restatement

A conclusion may restate the thesis, in new words, but restating alone is not enough. After restating, a conclusion shows why the judgment is reasonable and why the topic matters, perhaps how lives would change if readers accepted it. Copying the introduction's sentences into the conclusion makes the paper feel circular.

Four kinds of ending.

CMP 0458 Conclusions by Purpose

Depending on purpose and audience, a conclusion can summarize and restate, draw a logical conclusion, speculate about the issues raised, or recommend action. The Handbook's example closes a paper on seniors and technology by recommending that agencies help older people learn the technologies they need. Choose the ending that fits the paper's purpose: a proposal ends with action, an analysis with significance.

Nothing new at the end.

CMP 0459 New Material in a Conclusion

A conclusion should not introduce new ideas or new evidence; its job is to wrap up what the paper has shown. A new argument appearing in the last paragraph leaves readers wondering why it was not developed earlier. Recommending future research or action is not new material; it follows from the argument.

The first line readers see.

CMP 0460 Titles

A title is the reader's first contact with a paper, and an effective one is clear and descriptive. A report's title should describe the report plainly and directly, without trying to be too clever. A vague title such as "Essay Two" wastes the one line every reader sees first.

Four entries on revising introductions and conclusions, matching them, and a worked example. The opening idea is paid off at the last.

Fitting the finished paper.

CMP 0461 Revising an Introduction

Revising an introduction often comes last, because the final thesis and the body's real argument are known only after drafting. Compare the introduction's thesis with what the body argues, and revise it to match. Check that the hook connects to that thesis, not to an earlier version. Cut background the body does not need, and add what the thesis depends on. Check the move from context to thesis, and confirm the central issue is named. Introductions written first often promise a different paper from the one that was finished.

Reinforcing the real point.

CMP 0462 Revising a Conclusion

Revising a conclusion means checking that it reinforces the paper's real point and suits its purpose. Check that it restates the thesis in new words and matches what the body proved. Move any new argument or evidence into the body. Make sure the ending does more than summarize: it should show significance, draw a conclusion, look ahead or recommend action. Make the final sentence strong and specific, and read introduction and conclusion together. A conclusion that trails into a statement about all of society weakens the specific point the paper made.

Opening and close together.

CMP 0463 Matching Opening and Close

A strong opening and conclusion frame the same argument, so readers finish where the paper promised to take them. A paper that opens with an anecdote can return to it at the end, showing how the argument has changed the story's meaning. If the conclusion argues a different point from the introduction, revise one of them.

A weak opening revised.

CMP 0464 An Introduction Revised

A worked example, constructed for this course, pays off the opening idea. A draft introduction begins "Since the beginning of time, people have needed water," adds that water is very important and has many issues, and ends "In this essay I will talk about water." The body argues for replacing the city's lead service pipes. The vague opening becomes a specific hook, a test that found lead in a school fountain. The empty sentences give way to background the thesis needs. The announcement becomes a thesis that names the claim and its reasons. Every original sentence was grammatical and none was false; none did an introduction's work.

Look at what you can now do. You can explain what an introduction does, choose a hook that fits the genre, and give only the background the thesis needs. You can build an introduction in sequence, from hook to orientation to thesis. You can write a conclusion suited to the paper's purpose, keep new material out of it, and give the paper a clear, descriptive title. And you can revise an opening and a closing after drafting, so they frame the same argument. Unit Twenty brings the whole revision block together, on complete passages.