Introductions and Conclusions

As in life, so with ideas on the page: beginnings and endings are difficult. The fault with many introductory paragraphs in student essays lies largely in choosing a formulaic opening strategy, a cliché, which suggests that the argument to follow will be likewise uninspired. The fault with most conclusions to student essays is of a similar kind: a stock concluding paragraph that unnecessarily summarizes every point that has been made in the body of the essay.

What constitutes an effective essay introduction and conclusion may be determined in part by practices in various disciplines and by the preferences of individual professors. Nonetheless, below you will find advice on composing good beginnings and endings for the academic and personal essay.