Academic Writing: Part 2

Introductions and Conclusions

Most students know that essays should start with an introduction and end with a conclusion.
However, beginning and ending the essay is often far more difficult than writing the main body.
Introductions are especially difficult because they give the examiner his or her first impression of
your essay writing skills. Conclusions are the last thing the examiner will read before deciding your
grade! Therefore, its important to know what should and should not be included in each of these
sections.
Introductions
The purpose of an introduction is to clarify what you understand the title to mean. You may also
want to mention briefly why this is an important issue. Finally you need to outline how you
intend to answer the question. Lets examine each of these ideas in more detail.
1. Clarifying the meaning of the title
What are you being asked to do? Define any keywords. If there are no words which require a
definition, it is still a good idea to interpret any keywords in the title. Look at this essay title, for
example:
Illiteracy has traditionally been viewed as a third world problem. However, in developed
countries, illiteracy is increasing. Examine possible causes for this and its effect on society.
You should define illiteracy in the introduction. Its also important to make it clear that you
understand the difference between third world and developed countries. You also might want to
interpret the word society. What exactly does society mean in the context of this essay? Clarifying
this will help you to write a focused, relevant essay.
2. Mention briefly why this is an important issue.
You may want to include one sentence addressing why this issue is interesting or important, and to
whom. However, take care. Students often begin essays with a statement such as Illiteracy is a hot
topic in todays society. Try to avoid this. It sounds as if you are reciting a phrase you have learnt
and you are not thinking about the issue itself. Consider why illiteracy is important, who it affects
and whose job it is to solve the problem.
3. Outline how you intend to answer the question
This is a very important part of the introduction. The last sentence of your introduction should
outline exactly what you aim to do in your essay, and how you aim to do it. This sentence is called
the Thesis Statement. The thesis statement is very similar to the title. For example, a suitable
thesis statement for the title above could be:
This essay will firstly describe some reasons why illiteracy is increasing in developed
countries, and then examine the effect of illiteracy on society.
A good thesis statement will show the reader how the essay will be structured. For example, by
reading the thesis statement above, the examiner will know the number of sections in the essay,
and the topic of each paragraph. He or she will also know that the writer understands the question
in the title and is addressing it directly. Obviously, you cannot write a good thesis statement unless
you have planned your essay outline first.
One more important thing to remember is that you must not start answering the question in the
introduction. Do this in the main body of the essay.
Conclusions
Conclusions are actually quite simple. The purpose of the conclusion is to answer the question in
the title. Do this by referring to the points you have already made in the main body. Dont repeat
whole sentences, just summarise the main points. It is also important that you do not raise any new
ideas in the conclusion. The conclusion need not be long. Keep it brief and make sure it is directly
related to the question.