Short on time? This page is the recap. For explanations and worked examples, use the full study guide.
Recap
- An introduction introduces the subject and/or the writer, and it orients, engages and focuses the audience. It may present the thesis.
- A conclusion brings the argument to a unified end. It may present the thesis, but it should do more than repeat.
- Both are choices made for a rhetorical situation. A hostile audience, a friendly one and an examiner each need a different opening.
- When you analyse them on the exam, name the move and explain its effect on this audience and purpose.
Key moves
| Part | Moves to recognise and use |
|---|---|
| Introduction | quotation · intriguing statement · anecdote · question · statistic or data · contextualised information · scenario |
| Conclusion | significance in a broader context · connections · call to act · change in behaviour or attitude · solution · compelling image · implications · summary · link to the introduction · thesis placed last |
| Test for either | Does it orient, engage and focus (introduction)? Does it unify and add something (conclusion)? |
Choosing a move
- Who is reading? A board that must decide wants context and a thesis early; a general reader may need an anecdote first.
- What is my purpose? To persuade a sceptic, lead with common ground or a concrete scene; to inform, lead with the context.
- What is the setting? In a timed essay, put the position within the first few sentences.
Model moves to remember
- Anthony (1873, public domain) opens with a scenario of her own indictment: it orients the crowd, engages them with personal stakes and focuses the argument through the phrase “alleged crime”.
- Lincoln (1865, public domain) closes with a call to act wrapped in a change of attitude (“with malice toward none, with charity for all”): the ending turns the speech’s meaning forward rather than repeating it.
- A Marlbridge model: an essay that opens on a student waiting for a bus in the dark can close by returning to the same bus stop, now as a choice the board must make. The echo gives the sense of a unified end.
Mistakes to avoid
- Announcing instead of arguing: “In this essay I will discuss…” has no content.
- Vague openers: “Since the dawn of time…” or a dictionary definition that nobody disputes.
- A hook that goes nowhere: an anecdote or question with no link to the claim.
- A conclusion that only repeats the introduction in different words.
- New evidence in the conclusion that deserved a body paragraph.
- Naming a device without an effect: “The writer uses an anecdote” is not analysis. Add what it does for this audience.
Quick self-check
- Name three moves an introduction can make. (Any three of: quotation, intriguing statement, anecdote, question, statistic or data, contextualised information, scenario.)
- A conclusion returns to the story that opened the essay. Which move is that, and what effect can it have? (Connecting to the introduction; it gives a sense of completeness and shows how the argument changed the meaning of the opening.)
- Why is “In conclusion, I have shown that…” followed only by a repeat of the thesis a weak ending? (It adds no significance, implication or action, so the audience gains nothing from the last words.)
Next: practice questions.