Monday, October 19, 2009

Introductions

You've been writing introductions and conclusions for many years in your papers. After this chapter, however, explain how you used to think of intros and conclusions and how you think of them now. Next, read back over one of the intros to one of the sample essays we've read this semester from Signs of Life in the USA-- break down its introduction using Booth's three elements.

15 comments:

  1. Before reading this chapter I looked at introductions as just letting my audience know what I was going to talk about. I never actually considered the audience that said "I don't care." This helps me out because now instead of just using a cute hook like Booth says I can state a problem and let the audience know why it is important. I will be getting the readers attention and at the same time be writing what I will talk about later in the paper. For the conclusion, I would always just restate the problem and basically sum up the whole point of the paper at the end. Booth goes on to say add a new significance to the problem. He also says you can add more research in the conclusion. I know for a fact, before I read this chapter, I never added new information. I just summarized old information which is kind of boring.

    Superhero Worship:

    Contextualizing background:
    Postrel brings up the three Spider-Man movies created and that there is no end in sight for the movie. She also talks about the endless series of Batman, Superman, etc.

    Statement of the Problem:
    Virginia Postrel says "a serious look at the widespread appeal of these seemingly trivial productions is certainly in order."

    Response to the Problem:
    She goes on to tell why these heros are so glamourous. Postrel says we escape our everyday life by identifying with these heros. We are able to believe we can have these special powers because just like us the superheros have everyday problems.

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  2. In the past, I never put forth much effort into the Introduction or the Conclusion of any of my paper. For the Intros, I remember just trying to introduce what my paper was going to be about in a couple of sentences, but I never included any actual background about my topic, and I definitely never considered whether the reader would care or not about my claim. Now, for this research paper, I followed Booth’s suggestions of giving a background for the topic, stating my problem or claim about the topic, and answering why it is important, and it is much better than any other intros I have written. Also in the past, my conclusions were even worse than my intros. All I would include was a restatement of my thesis and sum up what the whole paper was about in a few sentences. I did not know that I could add more information and even more research into the conclusion of a paper.

    Context:
    Authors Curtis and Erion start with some common background about how the show South Park is viewed. They state that it is a crude animation with tasteless jokes expressed with a juvenile and offensive vulgarity.

    Problem:
    However, the authors, using Douglas Rushkoff’s argument as an example, disrupt the common ground by stating that beneath the vulgarity of shows, games and movies lurks a sophisticated social criticism.

    Response to Problem:
    The authors’ main claim in the essay is then stated how South Park is one of the shows that social criticisms and illustrations of fundamental principles of democracy political philosophy introduced by people like Karl Popper and Thomas Jefferson.

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  3. In high school when typically writing papers, I would spend more time on the introduction than the body paragraphs. I usually used two of the three components that booth mentions. I would give some background on the subject and then state my problem. I never thought of mentioning the resolution to the problem in the introduction. I also never considered my audience too much of an extreme. Booth mentions the ways to organize your introduction to suit the type of readers your paper is catering to. I never knew how the placement of the claim in the introduction played such an important role in the pace of the reader. When it came to conclusions, I usually put the least amount of effort into this paragraph. It always seemed that I just wanted to get the paper done, rather than leave the argument open for further discussion. I would usually just summarize and wrap up my claim. I was always told not to add new information, but as Booth mentions, this is a research paper where a new significance would actually work well in the conclusion.

    Background context:
    Virginia Postrel brings the genre of superhero movies to the reader’s attention. She goes into detail describing how these films have become very popular in recent years, and how they are becoming more common and abundant in numbers.
    Problem statement:
    She states that these movies are doing so well because they create a great appeal for the viewing audience. She then asks why these movies in particular are so appealing.
    Response to problem:
    The author answers her question by using the term ‘glamour.’ She then defines this term, showing the true meaning, rather than the typically understood meaning. The shows create an escape from reality, making a glorified image of the real world. Yet, despite this exaggeration, there is still a special relationship between the superhero and the viewer, due to their weaknesses in which we can identify with.

    -Shawn Mitchel

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  4. Before I read Booth I just thought that the introduction was just a way to lead your reader into the essay. I used to do this just by simply raising questions and making points on what was to come in the essay. Now after reading I know the true importance of the introduction, and that it actually has a structure behind it. Now I will be able to write a proper introduction that finds a common ground with the reader. In the past all I thought was that a conclusion was just a summation of what the essay was about. I didn’t even think about the possibility of adding new information or even raising new questions.

    So You Wanna Be a Gangsta?

    Context:
    Boyd begins by talking about Gangster and Western films as being the most important genre in Hollywood. He also discusses the differences between the two, and a little bit of background information. This leads the reader into the essay.

    Problem:
    The author states that the gangster focuses more on the ethnicity of people and how the gangsta transition is focusing more on the race. Then the author states “This ideological shift provided an interesting representation of the significant position hat race has come to occupy in the discourse of American society.”

    Response To Problem:
    “We must look at the transformation of the linguistic sign “gangster” and its slow transition to its most recent embodiment as “gangsta” as an instructive historical metaphor....”

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  5. As I have said in many previous blog posts, I have never concentrated so much on my reader or audience I am writing for. Booth gives me a whole new way to think about writing conclusions and I was taught that an introduction is suppose to go from broad to specific and the conclusion goes from specific to broad. I used the introduction to let the reader know what the essay would be about rather than actually trying to capture their attention and get them interested with common grounds. My conclusions have until now consisted of a summary of my whole essay in about four to five sentences. I would never have thought to bring up another question about what. But once again, this would have to do with thinking about the reader; if they became that intrigued with the essay.

    Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes:

    Context: Devor established that there is indeed a difference between the two genders, “feminine” and “masculine.” She lets the reader know that the rest of the essay will go on to explain about the attitudes towards and ones that come with these two variations.

    Problem: He states that there is a dilemma with the identity between feminine and masculine and how that should be accepted by society.

    Response: The author then goes on the described how the difference have been seen and accepted through history. He analyses the differences between the two through actions and attitudes that make up the roles of feminine and masculine.

    Erin King

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  6. In the past I've used introductions and conclusions as pretty much the same thing. Introductions for me were the place where I expanded on the title of my report. Here, I put more indepth what would be discussed in the report. Conclusions were the place where I said what was in the report but with a little more detail. Booth however suggests using the introduction and conclusion as a way to enhance the body of the paper with an outline of what to expect and the wrap up of the main point at the end. This would be a much better approach and more likely would read better as well.

    Context
    Super hero worship start with a quote and a statments exemplifying the fact that superhero movies and comics are both popular and profitable.

    Problem
    The problem in Superhero Worship is not so much explicitly stated, but rather stated as a fact. The essay looks at glamor and how superheros exhibit that, but the proposal of the problem insstead is a statement of fact.

    Response
    The response in this introduction comes as quicly as the problem. In this case the author states as fact, and thus the response to the problem, that superheros are glamorous.

    -Evan Ledet

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  7. During my senior year of high school my teacher always told us before each paper that the Introduction and the Conclusion were the two most important parts of a paper. I never had a problem forming an introduction or a conclusion because all we had to do was just find any kind of way to incorporate your thesis to the audience. Booth introduced me to a completely different thought process in terms of writing an introduction and a conclusion. I find that his method is more difficult, but in the end it will also be more beneficial. Again after reading through this book I've come to realize that this course isn't just about writing a paper that has all of the correct elements that a good paper requires. It's also about writing a piece that will grab the attention of the reader as well.

    Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes:

    Context
    Devor first establishes that a person's gender is described as his or her " masculinity" or " femininity" and then lists various characteristics that distinguishes the difference between each of them. Then she gives a general background of the essay and explains how she will show how society displays and stereotypes the two genders from each other

    Problem

    Characterizing masculinity and femininity does not portray the two clusters of characteristics as being in a hierarchy relationship to one another, but rather as being two different approaches to the same question.

    Response

    Devor then distinguishes the differences between each gender and shows how they are accepted by society. He also shows how they are stereotyped and why this has a large effect on people with gender problems.

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  8. As many of the other students have stated, I've always considered an introduction to a research paper as a layout for the paper itself. In fact, I never thought introductions were of much importance at all. At some point during my high school career, a teacher gave me the exact layout that an introduction should have beginning with the attention getter, followed by a sentence explaining each body paragraph, and ending with your paper's thesis. I would eventually follow this layout for basically every paper I had to write. I think that had a lot to do with my thoughts that introductions didn't matter much. If all an introduction does is explain what you're going to talk about, why not skip that and go straight into the paper itself? And the same goes for conclusions, considering I was always taught that they were meant to re-examine what you had already discussed (seemingly a superfluous step). Evan touched on that, as well. But I've come to understand that both are necessary parts of a research paper as a whole. Introductions and conclusions don't have to be fluffy paragraphs containing little actual information. They can both be structured, informative paragraphs that evaluate the research done on a specific topic and cap both ends of a well-researched paper, as Booth says to do.


    -Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes-

    Context: The author gives context to the topic by identifying that there are two social definitions, "femininity" and "masculinity," used to distinguish humans by gender.

    Problem: The problem seems to be the "abnormalities" of humans who do not fit perfectly into the gender roles set forth for them by society. Ranging from women who look slightly masculine to cross-dressing men who live life as women, it seems that problems arise when not everyone follows what society believes is right, as the author suggests throughout the paper.

    Response: Devor, the author, believes that the differences in gender roles have become more accepted as times passes, which is a response to the problem given. He also highlights the need for more acceptance for people who do not fit perfectly into the mold of their respective gender, which is something most cannot help.

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  9. All throughout high school, my english teachers always strongly emphasized the importance of the introduction and conclusion of a paper. In fact most of the methods they taught us were mentioned in Booth. The introduction and conclusion obviously set the tone for the paper, so I have always tried to make it suitable for my audience (usually just classmates). I always tried to give background information to form a baseline to the paper, then state what my main point of the essay is supposed to be. The only thing that was said which I have not considered before would be having the first thing that readers read, and last thing that you write be the title.

    Context:
    Superhero Worship brings up the topic of superheroes in movies and other forms of media to the reader. She explains how in their growing popularity they have started to make a greater impact on the audience.

    Problem:
    The main point of the essay brought up would be that superheroes tend to make people wish they were more like those characters in the movies and she wants to know why this is the case.

    Response:
    She then explains her theory on glamour and why we believe superheroes to be so glamourous. She explains the special connection through our imaginations which causes us to crave those attributes portrayed by superheroes.

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  10. I used to think of introductions and conclusions as a way to summarize what your paper was going to say or review what it did say. I never really thought about connecting with the reader with common ground and then stating the problem that the paper will talk about. As usual, Booth gave me a way more detailed way to goa bout things.

    SUPER HERO WORSHIP
    Context:
    It start out talking about all kinds of super hero comics and movies and how they are doing good and are flourishing.
    Problem:
    Postrel raises the question of why the comics and movies are so popular. What draws people to them?
    Response:
    Postrel introduces the term glamour and throws a different kind of definition to it. She then explains how this relates to the heros in the movies and comics.

    -Andrew "A.J." Hubert

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  11. My past introductions have consisted of a story or quote I could open my introduction with to get my readers interested, some miscellaneous information pertaining to my topic and then my “thesis statement”. However, after reading Booth I understand that stating my problem and providing background information is useful to the reader and it will capture the reader’s attention. My conclusion use to be my thesis statement re-stated with different wording and a concluding story proving my point true. Yet again, Booth explains that in the conclusion paragraph I could add new information and even include a new idea pertaining to my topic.
    Superhero Worship

    Background info:
    Postrel provides background information about the different super heroes and their success. She uses the Spiderman movies as an example to exemplify how superheroes are so popular.

    Stating problem:
    Postrel states that these superheroes have remained popular for so long because they provide their audiences with entertainment. She then ponders the question of why fans of superheroes have remained faithful fans for so long? Other words, what do these superheroes possess that their audience loves so much?

    Response to question:
    Postrel uses the word “glamour” to enlighten her audience why superhero fans have remained faithful fans. She explains what she means by “glamour” and provides examples from different superhero shows to prove her point.

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  12. In the past when writing papers, I used to just think of an introduction as something to get the readers' attention and to give a general outline of what my paper would be about. After reading Booth, I found out that it is really a lot more to that; it should engage your reader with interest and prepares them to understand it better. I never thought that an introduction could actually help the reader understand your essay better, but it should. Also, I found it interesting how Booth said to write the conclusion using the same elements of your introduction, only in reverse order. Your conclusion should also leave the reader with a clear statement of your main point and a renewed interest in the topic; although this seems obvious, I think I probably didn't think of these things when writing my conclusions in the past.

    Gender Role Behaviors & Attitudes
    Background Context: the cluster of terms used to describe someones gender: "femininity" to describe females and "masculinity" to describe males

    Problem:
    Most recognize our sex or gender based on the assigned groups people are put into instead on the basis of the sex characteristics, and majority of these are masked by the clothes of everyday life.

    Response: I don't think this is stated in the introduction, but rather the conclusion. "It seems more likely that gender roles are the result of systematic power imbalances based on gender discrimination."

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  13. I have always thought of intros as something to state what you're going to write and then tell how it is going to be accomplished, i have never really thought of it as much of an attention getter. I have always done it go from broad to specific. With conclusions I have always thought of them as just restating the facts, giving the reader a broad synopsis of what they've just read. Now, with intros I realize that they can accomplish so much more, and that they need to grab the readers attention so that they will make the reader want to continue reading and make the reader intrigued. with the conclusion, I need to do a better job of rehashing my arguments and getting the reader interested again into the topic and paper.

    Superhero Worship

    Background info
    The author gives information about past superheroes and gives specific information on the superman series and its success

    Problem:
    Why do people love and adore superheroes, and why has it lasted as long as it has

    Response:
    The author talks about the glamour of superheroes and introduces a new spin on the definition of glamour, and tells why superheroes are so popular

    -Erik Ross

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  14. The introduction has always been my favorite part of writing an essay, because it’s where I’m allowed to be the most interesting. I like writing, but I don’t like trying to find evidence to support things and all the other stuff you have to do in body paragraphs. The majority of my introductions in the past have been just telling the reader what the essay is going to be about, but I’ve always been really good at catching the reader’s attention. Giving background information is good because the reader won’t understand your claim if they don’t know anything about your topic. While Booth’s way of introductions will work for our essay, I don’t think it works for all essays in general. Not all essays have a problem you’re trying to figure out. Some essays are just stating your research or explaining something. I always felt stupid writing conclusions because I’m restating information that the reader already knew from reading the rest of the essay, so adding new information will be good for me.
    Revolution is U.S (this is definitely my favorite intro of all the essays we read)
    Context: I like this one because Friedman explains what he’s talking about in a way that is easily understandable to the average person. By making the gas station metaphor, he is essentially telling the reader the differences between the types of cultures and economies around the world.
    Problem: To read the problem and answer in his introduction you have to include the second paragraph too. “What is going on in the world today is that through the process of globalization everyone is being forced toward America’s gas station.
    Answer: [Globalization] is globalizing American culture and cultural icons. It is globalizing the American Revolution and it is globalizing the American gas station.

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  15. Usually, I would do my intros after my body paragraphs, because the hardest part for me in any writing exercise is starting it off. Thus, i would start with a known thesis statement and write the body paragraphs. Once I got to the intro, I had a general 3-part form. My first part included all accepted basic background necessary to begin an argument in funnel formation (most general to most specific). Afterwards, I would demonstrate the basic argument between sides by first stating my claim and then including the opposing claim (or sometimes vice versa). Lastly, I would state my thesis which included my main claim along with a preview of the supporting points which would become topics of my body paragraphs. My conclusion would usually be a recap. This would include re-affirming my main claim, following up with re-stating the new knowledge the reader should have attained, and stating what the result of attaining such knowledge should be. This book has made me think of my intro and conclusion in a simpler form. The intro should simply be context, problem, and response. The conclusion should be the reverse order of your intro with an appropriate follow-up of your original claim.

    South Park and the Open Society

    Context: South Park is often viewed as a crude animated show that simply makes juvenile and vulgar jokes

    Problem (Challenge): South Park actually appears to have a sophisticated form of social criticism embedded within it's crude show.

    Response: South Park's expression of social criticism within south park is supported by the virtue that it parallels with the supposed culture of the Jeffersonian and Popperian Open Society.

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