Writing A Good Introduction and Keeping it Going
Writing A Good Introduction and Keeping it Going
Writing and editing advice from [http://www.goodtermpaper.com]
An introduction is a good place for a story, compelling anecdote, bleak fact- depending on your assignment. An environment paper? Bleak fact is perfect. Paper on Mary Lou Retton? Definitely story. Politicans and government? Some juicy, telling anecdote (although bleak fact also comes to mind...inspiring, transcendent truth...?nah) These things all have strong emotional connotations for readers. However, you are conducting an orchestra, and you don't want to linger on the sad, enraging or even upbeat notes forever. You want a change of pace, like a slider and a fastball (I am playing fast and loose with the blog, but you should never, ever mix this many metaphors in a term paper.)
Usually, an emotional or controversial introduction is best served by deploying your hardest, best evidence immediately following your thesis. A term paper is a fight for your teacher's attention- they are bored, tired, and reading at least some papers from kids who don't know a lick about how to write- so hit hard and fast with the best you've got.
As always, your paragraphs should follow the PIE format- present your idea, illustrate with evidence, and explain how it all relates.
After your hard evidence paragraph, the next paragraph could be more evidence to back up your thesis. It could also be exposition, where you expound upon your topic. To do this, your evidence paragraph will need a good concluding sentence as a lead in to your expoundatory topic sentence. This is extremely important and is probably the number one underrated, specific reason for why papers get marked down to Bs or Cs. No transition game. The same thing that dooms basketball and hockey teams- passes through the neutral zone. They can't get broken up, they have to connect, just like your transition sentences- those sentences at the beginning and ends of your paragraphs.
Honestly, I can't stress this enough. You can say almost anything- well, you have so much more leeway for creativity, speculation, if your transitions are airtight. This is a psychological and comfort issue with your professor. If your paper flows smoothly among its ideas, there is far less traction for the Red Pen of Death to grab onto. Grammar mistakes are part of this too- your paper should be free of them, and run a grammar AND spell check on a word processing program that has one (Open office doesn't, for some reason). If you are free from mistakes, and you transition well, your paper will have a distinct voice that gets an uninterrupted reception in your teacher's mind. She won't be stopping very much to correct, to think to herself sternly what should be there, if you were a good writer. Everything good WILL be there, if you transition.
This article was written by the Editor in Chief at http://www.Goodtermpaper.com
Writing and editing advice from [http://www.goodtermpaper.com]
An introduction is a good place for a story, compelling anecdote, bleak fact- depending on your assignment. An environment paper? Bleak fact is perfect. Paper on Mary Lou Retton? Definitely story. Politicans and government? Some juicy, telling anecdote (although bleak fact also comes to mind...inspiring, transcendent truth...?nah) These things all have strong emotional connotations for readers. However, you are conducting an orchestra, and you don't want to linger on the sad, enraging or even upbeat notes forever. You want a change of pace, like a slider and a fastball (I am playing fast and loose with the blog, but you should never, ever mix this many metaphors in a term paper.)
Usually, an emotional or controversial introduction is best served by deploying your hardest, best evidence immediately following your thesis. A term paper is a fight for your teacher's attention- they are bored, tired, and reading at least some papers from kids who don't know a lick about how to write- so hit hard and fast with the best you've got.
As always, your paragraphs should follow the PIE format- present your idea, illustrate with evidence, and explain how it all relates.
After your hard evidence paragraph, the next paragraph could be more evidence to back up your thesis. It could also be exposition, where you expound upon your topic. To do this, your evidence paragraph will need a good concluding sentence as a lead in to your expoundatory topic sentence. This is extremely important and is probably the number one underrated, specific reason for why papers get marked down to Bs or Cs. No transition game. The same thing that dooms basketball and hockey teams- passes through the neutral zone. They can't get broken up, they have to connect, just like your transition sentences- those sentences at the beginning and ends of your paragraphs.
Honestly, I can't stress this enough. You can say almost anything- well, you have so much more leeway for creativity, speculation, if your transitions are airtight. This is a psychological and comfort issue with your professor. If your paper flows smoothly among its ideas, there is far less traction for the Red Pen of Death to grab onto. Grammar mistakes are part of this too- your paper should be free of them, and run a grammar AND spell check on a word processing program that has one (Open office doesn't, for some reason). If you are free from mistakes, and you transition well, your paper will have a distinct voice that gets an uninterrupted reception in your teacher's mind. She won't be stopping very much to correct, to think to herself sternly what should be there, if you were a good writer. Everything good WILL be there, if you transition.
This article was written by the Editor in Chief at http://www.Goodtermpaper.com
