1. In statistics, the process of hypothesis testing involves data preparation, including explorative data analysis. Do you think explorative data analysis is important? Why, or why not? At least 200 W

strategies for w riting introduction s and conclusions. If you hav e additional questions

after v iew ing this tutorial, please reach out to the W riting Center. W e’re here to

help!

1 This tutorial explains the purpose of an introduction and of a conclusion, giv es

strategies for w riting introduction s and conclusions, and discusse s w hat to av oid in

our introductions and conclusion s.

2 The purpose of an introduction is to engage readers w ith the topic by grabbing their

attention and focusing their attention on your topic (Aaron, 2016). You w ant to

prepare readers for y our paper by introducing the topic, prov iding any backgroun d

inform ati on needed to understa nd the paper, and establishing the m ain argum ent.

(Arlov, 2010). The introduction is your first chance to get readers interested in your

w riting and m ake them w ant to keep reading.

3 An introduction should engage the readers w ith the topic. Including a hook w ill grab

their attention and get them inv ested in the topic. How ev er, you should m ake sure

that the hook is relevant to the topic y ou w ill discuss in the paper (B allenger, 2007).

O ne option for a hook is a brief anecdote or narrativ e, but you should av oid lengthy

person al stories or hypothetical situations that delay the introduction of the m ain

argum ent and distract from the m ain point. Your hook should not take up the entire

introductory paragra p h ( Arlov , 2010). You should also note that persona l

experience s are not appropri ate in ev ery assign m ent. If the person al experienc e

distracts readers from your ov erall point or if you hav e been asked to w rite based

on research instead of person al experience s, you should use a different hook.

Another option for a hook is a surprising statistic or fact that is related to your topic.

(Aaron, 2016). A third option is a quotation. If you find a quotation that really

captures the problem you w ant to explore, it can serv e as the hook. (B allenger,

2007). Q uotations from experts can serv e as a hook and be a jum ping -o ff point for

y our ow n ideas. How ev er, any quotations used m ust be relevant to y our topic.

(Reinking & v on der O sten , 2014).

If y ou are w riting a paper on texting and driv ing, for exam pl e, y ou could include a

surprisin g and intriguing statistic about the num ber of v ehicle deaths caused by

texting. You could also use a specific new s story of a teenager ’s death due to texting

4 and driv ing. Either of these options w ill engage the readers w ith the topic.

4 O ur introduction s m ust include m ore than the hook to prepare readers for the

upcom ing essay. B ackgroun d inform ati on giv es necessary details that people

outside of y our course w ould need to understan d the paper ( A rlov , 2010). Exam ple s

of backgroun d inform atio n include titles and authors of articles you hav e been

asked to analyze, controv ersy surroun din g your topic, technical term s that need to

be defined, and hypothetical situations or actual cases that you hav e been asked to

evaluate. Include details that readers w ho are not in your class w ould need in order

to understan d the paper ( A rlov , 2010).

The introduction also prepares readers for the paper by stating your thesis. Your

introduction should clearly state w hat your m ain argum ent is or w hat the m ain topic

to be discusse d is ( A rlov , 2010). The introduction prepares the readers for w hat is to

com e by focusing their line of sight on the topics to be discusse d. After reading

your introduction, readers should hav e a good idea of w hat you are going to talk

about in the paper. Rem em be r that som e assign m ent s hav e specific requirem ent s

for the introduction. M ake sure to check the syllabus and understan d the

assign m e nt requirem e nts before w riting the introduction.

5 B eginning s can be hard to w rite, and som etim e s, w e need a w arm -up paragra ph

(Aaron, 2016). How ev er, w e need to m ake sure to rev ise our introduction s and cut

out any generalizati o ns, announc e m ent s of w hat w e w ill do in the essay, or

apologie s. W e should not try to m ake broad, sw eeping generalizatio n s like sin ce th e

d a w n o f m a n . Apologie s also w eaken an introduction. (Aaron, 2016). Saying I d o n ’t

kn o w m u ch a b o u t th is to p ic, b u t my u n d ersta n d in g is … or I m ig h t b e w ro n g , b u t I

th in k … does not inspire confidence in your readers. You should not apologize for

your opinion or for inexperie nc e. (Aaron, 2016). W e should also av oid introducing

our topic by saying in this essay, I w ill… . (Aaron, 2016). Statem ents that announc e

w hat the paper w ill do should appear in the abstract, not the introduction.

6 “Readers rem em be r beginning s and endings” (B allenger, 2007, p. 196). So, it is

im portant to understan d both the introduction and the conclusion. The conclusion’s

m ost basic purpose is to let the readers know that the paper is ending (A rlov, 2010).

This is the last chance you hav e to get your point across to the readers. Conclusion s

do this by rem inding the readers of your points and show ing them the im portance

of w hat you hav e w ritten (Arlov, 2010).

7 O ne w ay to keep the readers thinking about your topic is to highlight your m ain

points. The sum m a ry portion of the conclusion “draw s together and reinforces the

m ain points of a paper ” (Reinking & v on der O sten, 2014, p. 101). W hile sum m ary is

beneficial to the conclusion, you should av oid endings that sim ply re -state w hat y ou

hav e already said. You need to rew ord the thesis and your m ain points. (Arlov, 2010)

Av oid copying the thesis statem ent and topic sentences and pasting them into the

conclusion. B allenger (2007 ) argues that a conclusion needs to add som ething to

the paper. Therefore, you should not re -use the sam e w ording.

8 If a conclusion should add som ething to the paper, w e need to include m ore than a

sum m a ry in the conclusion (B allenger, 2007). O ne w ay to leav e your audience

thinking about y our argum ent is to m ake a recom m en d atio n or present a solution

to the issue you hav e identified. You could also illustrate the im portance of your

argum ent by show ing w hat it m eans for your readers or society as a w hole. Show

your audience how the problem affects them and m ake a prediction about w hat

m ay happen if things continue as they are (Arlov, 2010). You can also leav e readers

thinking about w hat you hav e w ritten by challengin g them to act or to do som ething

to fix the issue (Reinking & v on der O sten, 2014). For exam pl e, a paper targeting an

audience of fire fighters and discussing safety equipm ent could end as follow s: Fire

fighters should refuse to enter dangero u s settings w ithout the proper equipm ent.

This statem ent challenges the audience to take their safety into their ow n hands.

9 Though conclusions should add som ethin g to the paper, they should not bring up

new sources or new ev idence (Reinking & v on der O sten, 2014). The conclusion is

suppose d to signify the end, and introducing new ev idence w ill m ake the paragra p h

seem m ore like a body paragra p h than an ending. Endings that apologize for you

not being an expert m ake your readers doubt w hat you hav e w ritten (Aaron, 2016).

“Saying that you could hav e done a better job m akes a reader w onder w hy you

didn’t ” (Reinking & v on der O sten, 2014, p. 100). You should also av oid trailing off

into new topics that are not related to w hat you’v e been discussing or abruptly

ending after the re -statem ent of the thesis. (B allenger, 2007). Cutting off your

essay w ithout a conclusion or w ith a really short conclusion does not leav e readers

thinking about your topic; it usually leav es them disappo inte d and w ondering if you

hav e truly finished the essay.

10 If you hav e any questions about any of this inform atio n or if you need help w ith

w riting skills or APA, w e in the W riting Center are here to help. If you hav e any

questions, please feel free to call at 1 -800 -977 -8 4 4 9 ext. 6538 or em ail us at

team succee d@ c ol u m bi a so ut he r n.e d u. In addition, if you w ould like to w ork w ith a

w riting specialist, you can send your papers in before you subm it them to your

professor for a grade. Sim ply fill out the W riting Center Request form located in your

Student Portal, attach your paper, and w e w ill giv e instructions on skills that are

needed. W e w ill em ail your paper back to you w ith specific resources to help you.

Please be adv ised that w riting specialists require up to tw o business days to process

requests.

11 As part of the Success Center, these other serv ices are available : the O ffice of

Disability Serv ices, English Langu ag e Learner Serv ices, and the M ath Center. Feel

free to call or em ail them for assistance.

12 These sources w ere used in this presentation.

13 Thank you!

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