Transcript Intros & Conclusions

Intros & Conclusions
Basic purpose-- to prove to your
reader that you grasp the passage &
you have control of your writing
Advanced purpose-- to add in
VOICE!
Let’s start with conclusions:
You must… give your essay “a finished feel”
 You should not… just repeat or summarize
what you have already gone over


You can… add voice, discuss something
new, tie together with intro
Conclusions-- Idea #1

Use your conclusion to analyze the last part of
the passage
Example:
Lastly, Str. Leaves his audience with the visual of a
“well-respected” conductor doing “corybantics.” The
conductor is now seen as wild, out-of-control, and
uncoordinated instead of passionate and controlled.
Like all the visuals in his essay-- from the politicians,
to actors, to weeds, and to this unsightly excuse for a
graceful dancer-- Stravinsky indeed portrays
conductors as the “worst obstacle to genuine musicmaking.”
Conclusions-- Idea #2
Discuss speaker, or subject, or tone, or audience or the
connections between these things more in depth (if you
haven’t done already).
Example:
One cannot help but to hear the bitterness in Stravinsky’s assault
on conductors. This is understandable considering that
Stravinsky is the composer-- the genius behind the music-- and
conductors are but the face of the music. Conductors bow and
receive that standing ovation while the composer’s name merely
appears on the program. The conductor is like the running back
who everyone talks about incessantly while the composer is an
offensive lineman who does the hard work and receives few
accolades. Stravinsky through his essay strives to reverse this
notion and direct praise to those who deserve it most.

Conclusions-- Idea #4
Discuss what surprised or enlightened you
as a reader.
Example:
Through Stravinsky’s utmost scorn and
unflattering comparisons, has made his point.
I, for one, will indeed look at composers
differently, with a more skeptical eye. Are
they passionate musicians or just frauds
dressed up in tuxedoes?
Let’s talk intros…
On a basic level… you need a thesis
(with SOAPST/ rh. triangle) that shows
your reader that you “get” the passage
and what the prompt is asking.
More sophisticated… Adding some
voice/style to get you into the writing
and the reading into the reading
Intros-- Idea #1
Find the author’s thesis in the passage and
use words from it or from other sections
to intro your thesis.
Example: Accusing composers of having “ego
disease” and being “incomplete musicians”
and “complete anglers,” Igor Stavinsky does
not hide his disgust for composers. In his
essay, str. personally and aggressively
attacks the profession that he believes takes
away from the essence and beauty of the
music itself.
Intros-- Idea #2
Take the last idea in your essay and place it first to
give your essay a full-circle feel. (This means you
finish the essay and then do the intro.)
Example:
Most people see the conductor as a magician with a
wand, magically creating glorious sounds from his
attentive orchestra. Igor Stravinsky, however, sees it
completely differently. To him, conductors merely use
“corybantics” and deserve little more than laughter at
the absurdity of his spasmodic motions. In his essay
Stravinsky attempts to brutally expose the tuxedowearing “sophisticated” composer as nothing but a
fraud.
Intros-- Idea # 3
Take your favorite part (most interesting,
strongest, most shocking, etc) and
discuss.
Example: Egotistical politicians, superficial
actors, and ugly weeds are not what most
would want to be compared to. Yet
Stravinsky does this. And he takes a
respected figure-- the one-and-only conductor
of an orchestra-- and belittles him, making
him an object that should be scorned and
scoffed at.
Intros-- Idea #4
Use an analogy, allusion, or anecdote…
Igor Stravinsky likens composers to the
Paris Hiltons and Duke Cunnignghams of
our day. To the superficiality of overpaid
and over-exposed actors and to the
dishonesty and disloyalty of praisehogging politicians. Thesis…