Introductions & Conclusions (& Titles) c

COMPARE/CONTRAST specific

INTRIGUING TITLES ARE ALWAYS A PLUS  
It will be connected to it in your conclusion's clincher!

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INTRODUCTION 

--> Your first sentence should be an grab attention & hook the audience’s interest.

--> The middle of the intro gives background, general, and/or basic information about your following paragraphs. It introduces the body of your essay.  

--> The last part of your introduction is your THESIS STATEMENT.  

In a Compare Contrast essay, it asserts your opinion.

Then the thesis statement tells your audience what your three paragraph points are. 

Remember: 

1) It states an opinion that explains why it is useful to put these two topics together in the first place. 

2) It summarizes your 3 body paragraphs’ points.

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Here is the formula:

THESIS STATEMENT (for Compare/Contrast Essay)

OPINION w/ reason for comparison + TWO TOPICS + TRANSITION WORD(S) + THREE POINTS (PARAGRAPHS)

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Here are some examples of thesis statements:

"A cat is a better pet for our family than a dog because cats require less maintenance, are more independent, and do not need to be walked."

Point /Paragraph 1: maintenance
Point /Paragraph 2: dependency
Point /Paragraph 3: do not need to be walked

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"New York City and San Francisco are both great cities, but for young professionals NYC is superior because of the job opportunities, social environment, and living conditions."

Point /Paragraph 1: job opportunities
Point /Paragraph 2: social environment
Point /Paragraph 3: living conditions

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"It is clear that online college courses make more sense than traditional on-site courses because there are less distractions, more flexibility and greater cost savings." 

Point /Paragraph 1: less distractions
Point /Paragraph 2: more flexibility
Point /Paragraph 3: greater cost savings

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The colors are for YOUR benefit -- do not use different colors in your essay.

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CONCLUSION (special clincher rule - last 2 sentences)

--> Briefly recap the three points (paragraphs). You can elaborate (slightly). Remember! No new arguments/reasons!

--> The last paragraph should also help your reader feel glad that they read your essay.

REMEMBER THE RULE FOR THE LAST TWO SENTENCES

--> One of the sentences should tell the reader, "the most significant" point in your essay.

--> One of the sentences should repeat, reflect, or refract the topic sentence (hook) AND @ least be part of your TITLE.   (TT/CC)

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Here is an example - Thank you for requesting this, Lillian! And thank you to Derica for letting me use parts of her essay as an example.

NOTE: Thesis statement: A pet cat is a better choice for a middle schooler than a pet dog based on shedding, price, and attention needed. 

EXAMPLE of a possible CONCLUSION 

(RE-CAP -->) For the typical middle school student, a pet cat is a much better choice than a pet dog. Shedding is not as much of a problem for cat owners.  Cats are more reasonably priced than dogs, and they also require much less attention than dogs.

(ADDED INTEREST / MAKE THE READER GLAD THEY READ) -->) Even the great poet, Carl Sandburg understood how wonderful cats are. He used a cat as a metaphor in his famous poem, Fog. 

"The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on."

The cat represents silence and beauty in this poem; the cat required no attention.

(MOST SIGNIFICANT STATEMENT -->) The most significant thing to remember about cats versus dogs as pets is that cats require much less attention.

(CLINCHER-->)  This sentence must repeat, reflect, or refract the topic sentence (the hook).