COM101 Introductions

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Communications 101: Introductions, Paragraph Organization and Conclusions

I. Introductions

The introduction is a crucial component of the paper because it provides an outline of the

paper. A good introduction will explain the subject of the paper, suggest why it is important,and provide a road map of your approach to the topic. Elements of a good road map will

include the background that equips your reader for an understanding of the topic, the

argument that you will espouse throughout the paper, and a brief explanation of how you will

defend this argument. After reading the introduction, your reader should be able to anticipate

the direction of the rest of your paper.

Inviting openers:

1. An intriguing example2. A provocative quotation3. A surprising scenario4. A related anecdote5. An insightful questionYour introduction should begin with a general or abstract idea. Gradually funnel your

opening; each succeeding sentence should narrow the subject. The final sentence will, in

most cases, be your thesis. Your thesis will be the least general statement; it should be

concise, direct and specific. (64-65)

Examples:

You know about how I ended up in L.A., how I was drowning in that postcollegiate soup

into which middle class white kids with arty leanings often slip the summer after senior year.

I had no particular plans for any particular thing, and suddenly nobody was grading me on

the still life of a pear I painted or my paper on the postfeminist ramifications of the film

Alien: Resurrection. You mean nobody is going to seek me out and give me a job rendering

fruit in cheap oils on Tuesdays and Thursdays for twelve-thirty to four? Weird.

It had been six months since Id stopped taking the little pink pills that had evened out my

moods and the ugly old feelings were beginning to rumble again. With the summer getting

late and no school to go back to, Martha and I figured wed leave Ohio and drive around the

country awhile, eat Fritos in the car and drink beer in weird bars in Kansas. It was hot and

rainy, and by the time we got to Vegas and tried to scrape together blackjack money in the

parking lot of the Sahara the adventure was turning grim. Id lost my voice from yelling over

the noise of the passing road and Martha wanted to keep moving west, as she was heartsick

about this guitar player in Los Angeles, California.

(taken from California 20 Something Essays by 20 Something Writers).


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I am twenty-five years old, five foot eight, 110 pounds, with huge dark eyes and long dark

hair, and look totally fucking amazing naked. Like maybe better than I do clothed, although

I look good that way, too. Im not telling you this to be obnoxious, or conceited, or shallow,

but rather because itmy ability to look graceful, tasteful, natural while nudeis a salient

secret of the success Ive enjoyed in a job Ive done for that past three and a half years.

(taken from Live Nude Girl 20 Something Essays by 20 Something Writers).

I believe that families are not only blood relatives but sometimes just people that show up

and love you when no one else will.

In May 1977, I lived in a Howard Johnsons motel off of Interstate 10 in Houston. My dad

and I shared a room with two double beds and a bathroom way too small for a modest

fifteen-year-old girl and her father. Dads second marriage was in trouble, and my

stepmother had kicked us both out of the house the previous week. Dad had no idea what to

do with me. And thats when my other family showed up.

(taken from The People Who Love you When No One Else Will This I Believe: ThePersonal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women).

My dear Fellow Clergymen,

While confined here in the Birmingham City Jail, I came across your recent statement calling

our present activities "unwise and untimely. Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism

of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all of the criticisms that cross my desk, my

secretaries would be engaged in little else in the course of the day and I would have no time

for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your

criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will bepatient and reasonable terms.

(Taken from Letter From Birmingham Jail The Borzoi College Reader, 7th

ed.)

II, Paragraph Organization

A paragraph is a group of facts, arguments, evidences, or descriptions that develop a single

idea. Your outline should express what these individual ideas are and what the content of

each paragraph should be. Its difficult to prescribe a certain length to a paragraph.

Paragraph length will depend on the depth of your argument, the amount of evidence you

need to provide, or the number of facts that support the paragraphs single idea.

The most important element of every paragraph is its topic sentence. Close attention to topic

sentences will direct your reader, ensure organization, prevent common paragraph errors,

guard against repeated information, and protect against pure summary.

When crafting your topic sentence, remember some of the common functions of a good topic

sentence:


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To present new evidence or insightful ideas that strengthen and substantiate yourthesis

To give the audience the necessary background information that will help themunderstand your argument

To defend and address counterarguments that might be presented by critics To explain ideas in your arguments

Scrutinizing topic sentences is a helpful tool for making sure youre not repeating information

unnecessarily. (54-57)

Examples

Unfocused:

Boudin became his most influential teacher. Boudin encouraged him to paint outdoors (Heinrich

25). Monet was already passionate about nature. Monet would later consume his life around his

gardens. In 1890, he moved to the village of Giverny in France. In Giverney he rented an estate

where he had an elaborate maze of gardens and ponds created. He stayed in his home for 23

years until his death on December 5, 1926. One of his most prized and inspirational parts of his

garden was his Japanese bridge. In the enchanting, lovingly tended garden at Giverney, Monet

began to execute the series of paintings of water lilies floating on his ponds (Zuffin 260). Over

Monets long art career he produced over two thousand cataloged paintings (Wilkin 42). Most of

Monets art are landscapes due to his love of nature.

Focused:

Over the course of Monets long career he produced over two thousand cataloged paintings

(Wilkin 42); the majority of these images are landscape scenes, many of them set on the streets

and gardens near his home. Monet had experimented with painting outdoors, a practice his early

and most influential teacher, the artist Boudin, encouraged. Monet coupled his interest in nature

with his practice of painting outdoors, producing the innovative landscapes associated with the

Impressionist movement. While Monets large Impressionist catalog includes images of regattas

and street scenes, his most famous images are those produced later in his career, at his home in

Giverney. Monet moved to Giverney in 1890 and immediately began building an elaborate maze

of gardens and ponds. In the enchanting, lovingly tended garden at Giverney, Monet began to

execute the series of paintings of water lilies floating on his ponds (Zuffin 260). Monet

remained in Giverney for 23 years, producing nearly 250 serial images of water lilies. Painted at

the end of Monets life, these paintings display all of the innovations in color, light andplein air

techniques that he had investigated over the course of his career as an artist and Impressionist.


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Unfocused:

At the San Fernando Academy of Painting, he began his Cubist works, which were influenced by

Picasso (Descharnes 17). Later in Dalis life, Picasso was impressed by his work and even paid

for his trip to America (Descharnes 78). His rebellious nature was first apparent when he was

expelled for protesting against the hiring of a mediocre artist to a high position (Descharnes 20).After school, Impressionist, Cubist and Futurist artists no longer influenced him as much.

Eroticism was introduced into his artwork and he began to develop his own style. It was around

this time that he became known as Surrealist (Descharnes 25-26). He became familiar with other

Surrealists, including Helena Diakonov Devulina, also known as Gala. He was fascinated with

her and after they started a relationship, she became his muse, protector and business advisor.

Focused:

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Unfocused:

He was a superstitious, sarcastic man, sometimes rotten to his children, often beastly to his

women (Hughes 1). Even still, women tended to drift toward Picasso, for his charm was known

to be enchanting. Throughout the war Picasso was the first artist to enjoy the obsessive attention

from the mass media. This created a strong controversy, in turn, creating a celebrity. After the

loss of Braque (his friend and fellow artist, Picasso has even been quoted as called Braque his

wife) Picasso remained a loner for the rest of his career. He didnt form a relationship with

Matisse until very late in life. His close relationships tended to be with poets and writers.

Focused:

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______________________________________________________________________________

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III. Quotes

Quotes are an important part of any well-researched academic paper. Heres how to use them

correctly.

1. When you include a quote that is an independent clause or an entire sentence precedequotes with commas and capitalize the first letter of the quote.

2. Keep end punctuation inside the quote.3. When your quote is not an entire sentence, dont worry about the commas or

capitalization.

4. Aim to keep the quote in its most original form. When incorporating quotes, it can betempting to change the wording slightly. [Instead] try to change your text around to

accommodate the exact quote. When as change in your text is impossible, you can resort

to brackets.

5. You may need to include brackets to replace nondescript pronouns.6. Keep quotes condensed. Cite only the most powerful phrases and the most relevant

information. Sometimes youll find a couple quotable sentences. . . Feel free to replace

unnecessary phrases with ellipses.

7. Be selective with your quotes. Dont quote something that is not remarkable. . . Quotesthat have an especially descriptive portrayal, insightful idea, or nicely constructed

wording, however, make poignant quotes.

8. Use quotes if an ideas is unbelievable.9. Dont abuse quotes. Remember that youre the one writing this paper and that you must

contribute your own words.

10.Avoid block quotes. Block quotes are long quotes that need to be separated from theparagraph. Only when the quote is absolutely imperative to describing a situation or

when especially effective in proving your point should you include these block quotes.

(60-62)

IV. ConclusionsYour conclusion us your last chance to have the last word. . . Dont let your conclusion

fizzle out; capitalize on this last opportunity to convince your reader that youve effectively

proven your thesis. Your conclusion will collect and summarize your ideas, demonstrate

their importance, and propel your reader to further examination. . . The conclusion offers

you the chance to expand on the topic. You may consider related issues, establish new

connections, and elaborate on your findings. Your conclusion should answer the readers so


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what? Whatever information will answer this question may be included in the conclusion.

(67)

V. Sources

Alison, Jay and Dan Gediman, eds. This I Believe The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable

Men and Women. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2006.

Cohen, Justin M and Mari Page et al. Yale Daily News Guide to Writing College Papers, New

York: Simon and Schuster, 2000.

Kellogg, Matt and Jillian Quint, eds. Twentysomething Essays By Twentysomething Writers.

New York: Random House, 2006.

Muscatine, Charles and Marlene Griffith, eds. The Borzoi College Reader, 7th

ed. New York:

McGraw Hill, 1992.

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