Paper

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PEN 0035

English 3

All Foundation Programmes

ONLINE NOTES

Chapter 14

Opening

Closing

OPENING

Write a Clear and Specific Opening

First impressions are important in academic writing. You want to write an introductory paragraph that will engage your readers’ interest and encourage them to read on, not because they have to but because they want to. You must also clearly establish the topic of your paper in your opening paragraph, so that the context of your thesis is clear. Finally, you must present that thesis, which usually will appear at the end of your introductory paragraph, though it may be implied instead of stated explicitly in a single sentence. Let’s look at five examples of introductions to academic essays and judge, discuss and analyse the effectiveness of these paragraphs based on the three criteria mentioned above:

Does it engage the readers’ interest?

Does it clearly establish the topic?

Does it present the thesis?

Sample 1

Progressive, socially responsible people favour recycling as a way of saving natural resources and reducing the strain of landfills. Environmentalists and city politicians, eager to get elected, exploit this interest in recycling, promising cheaper consumer goods and a cleaner city if recycling programs are implemented. But studies of municipalities that have aggressive recycling programs suggest that recycling is neither cost-effective nor supported by property owners forced to participate in municipal programs. Effective waste management is an essential service, but there are better ways than recycling to handle the tons of waste even a moderately sized city will generate in the course of a week.

Analysis.

Introductory paragraph 1 is the opening paragraph for an essay about effective and ineffective methods of controlling the problems with trash that every city faces. It establishes the essay’s topic clearly and effectively and presents the essay’s thesis firmly in the last sentence....