Leo Topic Assignment: Parts of a Paper

I chose parts of a paper to research for this blog. I thought this was a good topic because if you do not have the proper parts of your paper, then it will not be totally correct. The three sections of the paper Leo put online are the introduction, thesis statement, and the conclusion. I will talk about each one in this presentation.

First off is the introduction.

“Introduction: the first paragraph (or paragraphs) of any written work”

An introduction captures your audience's attention, gives background on your topic, develops interest in your topic, and guides your reader to your thesis. There are three basic ways to write an introduction. You can write the introduction after you write the body of your essay. You can write the introduction before you write the body of your essay. You can rough out the introduction first and then focus and revise it once you have written your essay. But there is no single right form for an introduction to take. The introduction begins with a broad statement about the main idea. This statement might suggest background or the general category to which the thesis idea belongs. The next sentences are more specific, moving closer to the actual thesis of the essay. The final sentence of an introduction often contains a fairly specific version of the main idea.

                Next will be the thesis statement. A thesis statement is an assertion, not a statement of fact or an observation. It takes a stand rather than announcing a subject. A thesis is also the main idea, not the title. It must be a complete sentence that explains in some detail what you expect to write about. They are narrow, rather than broad. If the thesis statement is sufficiently narrow, it can be fully supported. A thesis statement is specific rather than vague or general. It has one main point rather than several main points. More than one point may be too difficult for the reader to understand and the writer to support. You can revise your thesis statement whenever you want to while you are writing your essay. Writers often discover what their real purpose and point is in the process of putting their thoughts into words and then reading what they have written.

                And finally the conclusion, conclusions are often the most difficult part of an essay to write, and many writers feel that they have nothing left to say after having written the paper. A writer needs to keep in mind that the conclusion is often what a reader remembers best. Your conclusion should be the best part of your paper. A conclusion should do three things, stress the importance of the thesis statement, give the essay a sense of completeness, and leave a final impression on the reader. A strategy for writing a conclusion is echoing your introduction, it is meant to bring the reader full-circle. If you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay was helpful in creating a new understanding.

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/intro.html