Yes, this blog post is about Introductions and Conclusions. Have I hammered you enough about these little essay bits? I hope so, because I want you to understand a few things about them that will make your essay writing life a little easier.
Here they are:
- Introductions make it harder for your professor to identify your thesis
- Introductions and Conclusions are not necessary parts of a great essay
- Conclusions are repetitious and make you break your head over how to write them without being redundant
- Introductions and Conclusions are purely decorative – they don’t add intellectual quality to your essay
- Many professors and instructors are aware of all these facts
So, what are you to do, then?
Well, simply not writing your Introductions and Conclusions ever again may not be the best idea, and I’ll tell you why. You see, many professors, institutions, and standardized tests require you to include them in your essays. So, the questions is, how do you know when to write and when not to write them?
The answer is simple – just ask. Approach your professor or instructor at the end of class and simply ask her if she prefers her essays to include Introductions and Conclusions. It’s as simple as that. She will answer in one of the following ways:
- Yes, you should write both an Introduction and a Conclusion
- I don’t care about Introductions, but a Conclusion is necessary
- I don’t care about the Conclusion – just write the Introduction
- I don’t really care if you include any of these, as long as your essay is otherwise well-written
The answer you get will tell you exactly what to do. Also, simply approaching your professor and asking her this question will most likely make her see that:
- You are serious about her class
- You are serious about essay writing
- You genuinely enjoy the subject of the course
- You simply care
I hope you can see that these realizations can’t hurt your success in the course. 🙂 And now – the sweetest part:
If you get the answer that your professor doesn’t care if you include either an Introduction or a Conclusion, or both, then you’ve just saved yourself some pain associated with writing them – in 1 easy step.
So – don’t be shy and approach your professor about this. It’s a simple step that takes about a minute after class, so just do it. And feel free to let me know the results. And, by the way, in case you are asked to include an Introduction and a Conclusion, I’ll be posting some ideas on how to write them quickly and painlessly in future posts.
Happy Writing Life,
Tutor Phil
Questions? Comments? Post here.
Hello Phil,
I need help, I have an final exam this week on How significant is the setting of the story? Show how the setting impacts the characters and their actions.(you can give me an example of any story) I just need to see it, to understand completely.
Thanks in advance
Betty
Yeah – I should post an article on how to write about literature.
Sorry about the belated reply, Betty. But it’s been a crazy month (which not necessarily bad).
Phil
sir can u please edit this essay ..have gone through your website ,its great and very helpful ,still i want you to grade as am unable to make out how much grade my essay deserves. thank you sir
UNIVERSITY SHOULD GIVE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY TO SPORTS AS THEY GIVE FOR LIBRARY..
Well yeah i believe that unviersity should give equal importance to sports as well as library definitely .” World of bookworms is gone ,now people appreciate those who are all rounder “.There was a time when all importnace was been given to the academics and no grades meant ,no opportunity, no job ,no success . Nowadays companies prefer to hire people who have good personality and not just top class certificate with dull personality .
College or university level is considered as one of the most imoprtant phase for a child, because in this phase child learns and aquires the maximum knowledge he can . This is the best learning phase for any student , giving importance only to credits wont enhance the other skills of child , university should emphasize on other aspects like sports , cultural activities , debates , general knowledge quiz etc .This will definitely help a student in his all round nourishment . Giving sufficient money for sports can be the first and foremost step as it will improve the standard of sports facilities being provided to student , which in return willth attract and encourage the students . This will also inculcate team spirit in them with phsical fitness and in return mental fitness .
Lack of good facilities for sports discourage a student to remarkably , and hence library is the only option left for them , studies all the time no doubt makes you intelligent but can never make you smart , physically fit ,mentally happy and can never inculcate basic things in your nature like leadership qualities, sportsmanship , how to work in a team , commitment towards anything .
Hence to conclude i just want to say that healthy body leads to healthy mind and vice-versa so both should be considered equally important , and university/college play very essential rol
Well, first of all, Nehak, you definitely present an argument and support it in this essay. That’s the good news.
The way you have it now I would rate it 6/10 because it is weakened by mistakes of different types: punctuation, grammar, and overall structure.
I think you took my advice about using a period to heart, and that’s where you have improved.
Now, here’s one small advice: when using a comma or a period, don’t use a space right before it. For example, instead of writing:
This is the best learning phase for any student , giving importance only to credits wont enhance the other skills of child , university should emphasize on other aspects like sports , cultural activities , debates , general knowledge quiz etc .
You should write:
This is the best learning phase for any student, giving importance only to credits wont enhance the other skills of child, university should emphasize on other aspects like sports, cultural activities, debates, general knowledge quiz etc.
Do you see the difference? Good.
Now, here’s some homework for you:
Read and study my blog post on How to Write a Great Thesis Statement.
Then rewrite your first paragraph according to what you learned. Post it here, and we’ll go through it. Let’s take it step by step, okay?
Tutor Phil
Hello Phil i really appreciate your advice regarding comma,thanks a lot really else would not have known.Well,have read that blog again and have made few changes in the previous essay,have tried to mention the thesis topic clearly then statement and then support for the same. So please check and guide me.Thank you so much for the quick help.
Dear tutor phil.thank you for you great help on your news letter. am final year degree management student.i will finish on coming July. so my instructor order me to Write essay to fulfill my degree.on employee turn over.but i try to write and not effective. for buying this essay am from poor family.please i need helpfrom you to help me freely to send this essay.sorry to say .waiting for your great response hopefully.
yours Debreberhan Worku
Debreberhan,
Buying an essay may not prove helpful, especially if your professor smells a rat and digs a bit deeper into your paper. Then you’ll be in real trouble.
Look, you have access to the Internet, so why not do a little research on this topic? Not much – just a little to get you started.
Try to write your thesis statement as early in the process as possible. Try to use the Power of Three – it’s very helpful.
For example:
Employee turnover has changed differently in the past ten years in the three major professional areas – medical, governmental, and educational. The medical profession seems to have proven the most stable with only a very low turnover. The government was able to keep its employees less effectively. And teachers and other educators seem to change their professional course the most frequently.
Now, please notice that I just pulled all this stuff from my imagination. I don’t know what I’m talking about here. First of all, which country are we talking about? Then, do you have any specific areas? I just chose the three that first came to mind.
But also note that at least I have something going here. Now I’m ready to consult Mr. Google and, if my arguments prove wrong, I’ll change them. But I have a very strong place to start. Now I know what to look for on the Net when doing my research.
You see what I’m trying to say? Try my method.
Cheers,
Phil
Hi DrPhil,
Your articles are absolutely great! I have been an avid reader since I came across your website.
Okay to the points:
1. I have read your tips on creating a good thesis statement. Do the rules also apply to creating a good report. I am a postgraduate student and I have been proscratinating writing my report. I am in the field of terrorism and the uni would normally require a 3000 word-report.
2. How to write a good report? I am aiming to get an HD (High Distinction) for this paper.
3. Do you really need a long time to write a report? I have spent 3 weeks researching. You wrote in one of your articles that you used to linger on the net when you could already start to type. Well, I am still doing the same mistake. The thing is…I am worried that I would not produce a good report.
Help me!
Ta,
Ajeethaa
Ajeethaa,
First, stop worrying! 🙂
I know – easier said than done, but this is number one.
As far as a report is concerned, it may or may not require a thesis at all.
You see, if you’re not sure if the same rules for writing a thesis statement would apply to writing a report, then you must clarify for yourself what exactly is expected of you.
I would do that before anything else.
Once you understand exactly what the report should look like, you can start writing.
If you had clarified this before beginning your research, you would have saved lots of time.
So, find out from your professor if the report should have a thesis statement or a specific amount of raw data. Just find out from him what the final product must look like structurally.
Hope this helps,
Tutor Phil
Phil,
You are a psychic!! My prof stated that he was not interested in the format but more on the contents of the report. He wants to see that we have put in efforts in reading up on the topic and that we are able to come up with a report that would reflect just that.
My concern is…words!! I tend to be apprehensive when it comes to writing a report. But I am following ur leads now…zoom in and focus…
Great job, Ajeethaa.
Feel free to let me know the results…
T.P.
Yes, Tutor phil I asked my professor about to include introduction and conclusion in the essay? she was stunned. why not?
May I have an idea about how to write introduction for the causes of stress?
First of all, congratulations on taking action and following some of my advice. I do recommend always asking your professor whether she would want introductions and conclusions in your papers.
If you follow this simple advice, sometimes YOU will be stunned at the answer you get. Sometimes your professor will not even care about those parts as long as your thesis and body are clear. This way, you would save yourself lots of effort.
So, you went ahead and asked your professor, and she was stunned – why not? Very good. Now you know that you MUST include an introduction and a conclusion in every paper you write for this professor.
You don’t have to guess anymore. That’s the benefit.
As for your question about how to write an introduction about the causes of stress, here’s a tip for you.
Try to think back to your own life and remember a time when you were really stressed. What caused your stress?
Now take that scenario and write it out as a little story or occurrence. Make it interesting, maybe even a little funny. Or, you can make it dramatic and even “traumatic.” ☺
And start out your essay with this personal example. I think your professor will like it. In general, one good way to write introductions is simply to provide an example that would otherwise support either the whole thesis or a part of the thesis. Get it?
And an example, as you know, is the most specific part of an essay. It contains all the smells, the colors and textures. In short, it should read kind of like an anecdote. And it doesn’t have to be your personal anecdote at all. It could be something that you read ten years ago in a newspaper. Use it – who cares – as long as it is relevant.
Hope this helps.
hi tutor phill and every body who are the member of this wonderful site .pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease help me .i know all of the rules about writing but im afraid of it .when i see a topic nothing comes to my mind ,i mean i cant write at all,i read a lot but im unable to write.what should i do?
Soheila,
Thanks for the post. Your first step would be to sign up for my newsletter in which I give out a lot of free advice on essay writing. It is the best and the most valuable newsletter devoted to essay writing on the internet.
You can sign up at almost any page on this site by entering your name and email in the box on the top right. You will also get a cool report that will teach you something very effective.
And then you’ll be able to ask me specific questions about your writing assignments, too.
Now – to your question. You seem to lack confidence in writing. This usually comes from the fear of criticism – “what will my teacher think of me when she reads this?!”
And this fear comes from the lack of understanding of how an essay should really be written. You may know the rules, as you say, but these are probably just very general guidelines, such as ‘be clear,’ ‘avoid short sentences,’ and other unhelpful advice like that.
You see, once you understand the true purpose of an essay and learn a few very specific and effective techniques of writing, your confidence will get a boost and you will never fear writing again.
I could talk about this forever but, again, your first step is to get some free advice from me by signing up.
Hope this helps,
TP
I need help with a conclusion paragraph . Help please
I have to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this blog. I really hope to see the same high-grade content from you later on as well. In truth, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my very own blog now 😉