Day 5 - Friday

Day 5 - Friday

1) Class Business (5)

* Sign-in Sheet
* Discuss Assignment for Monday 9/10; Hand out information on Fever Pitch Selections

2) Introductions and Conclusions Lecture (15)

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Lecture Notes:

I. Goal: What does an introduction do? What is its purpose?

A) Sets the stage for readers.

B) Readers use introductions to set up a mental framework for the argument they will encounter in the body of the paper; readers use introductions to create a cognitive framework of concepts, story lines, attitudes — it establishes expectations.

II. If introductions establish expectations, what does a good intro do? (Sets up proper expectations.); A bad intro? (Sets up expectations which the body of the essay doesn’t deliver.)

III. So, the introduction controls the reader’s developing sense of coherence and meaning. How? By using the Grammatical Structure of Introductions:

A) Connecting Threads: You provide your reader with connecting threads — linking the introduction to the body/ rest of the essay.

1) Characters: who play the principal roles in the "story" your sentences/ essay tell.

2) Key Concepts/ Threads: here you introduce the concepts and themes that will be central to your argument.

B) What’s At Stake: Establish "what’s at stake" for readers (i.e. problem statement).

C) Launching Point: The launching point it always the last sentence of the introduction, whether you use it with this in mind or not. You should place the answer/ solution/ thesis (or an anticipation of the answer) here.

D) Purpose of this structure:

1) Characters: threads for a coherent story.
2) Themes: threads for a coherent argument.
3) What’s At Stake/ Problem Statement: So readers know how what they read relates to their lives and concerns.
4) Launching Point: reader gains a sense of where the document is taking them.

IV. Review Problem Statement Structure

A) Prelude (new element: anecdote, quotation).
B) Status Quo
C) Destabilizing Condition/ Question
D) Consequences
E) Solution/ Answer/ Thesis

V. Handout: The Problem Structure of an IntroductionA) Use handout to show the parts of an introduction.

VI. What about conclusions? What do they do?

A) Mirror of Introduction: The conclusion locates your discussion with respect to further questions and problems in the way that your introduction locates the discussion with respect to previous questions and problems.

B) Gives you one last chance to put your discussion in a context that helps your readers:

1) Make sense of it.
2) See why it’s important to them.

C) Parts of the Conclusion:

1) Answer/ Solution
2) Implications of Answer (that lead to further consequences)
3) Remaining Ignorance (reflection of introduction’s problem)
4) Opportunities for Further Research (reflections of introductions' status quo)
5) Coda (reflection of introduction’s prelude)

VII. What happens in the body of this essay?

A) Development (of themes, characters, question)
B) Resolution (response to question/ problem)
C) Fulfillment of Reader’s Expectations

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3) Introduction/ Problem Statement Workshop (15)

* Everyone take out your introduction. When I say, "Go," I want you to find a partner and put your desks together. Ready? "Go!"
* Now, exchange intros. Once you’ve read your partner’s introduction, I want you to fill out the workshop sheet.
* Hand in sheets and introductions.

4) Conclude discussion of McCarthy (15)

5) Return e-mails with comments.

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