ELSAC Workout: Academic Writing 3, Introductions

ELSAC Workout: Academic Writing 3, Introductions
(EN/A/ 0402.001)
Get Writing Fit!

review the purposes of an introduction
consider how to write an effective thesis statement

Level: Foundation
Time: approx. 20 mins
Suggested next workout: Academic Writing 4, Conclusions

Extra support: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/thesis-statements/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TotaRoYh60Y

Work through the practice activities in order, by clicking on the tabs at the top of the next page. After completing all practices, the Result tab will summarize your workout. Record your results as proof of independent learning and as motivation to repeat the workout and beat your score. Practice makes you fitter!

Material developed by Hebe Wong, Johanna Klassen, Alison Wood.

Strengthen knowledge

Stretch usage

Energize practice

*** All ELSAC Workouts ***

Practice 1 & 1.1 Practice 2 Practice 3 Result

1. Warm up for the workout

There are several purposes, or aims, of the introduction to an academic piece of writing. Here is a list of several possible purposes - some may not be appropriate for all genres. However, one of the below is not usually included in any introduction to a piece of writing. Which one? Click on it to find out if you are correct.

The purpose of an introduction is to...

... grab the readers' attention

... clarify the main purpose of the text

... provide some background to the topic

... provide all the details of the topic

... explain why the text has been written

... give an outline of the structure of the text (scope)

... present the writer's opinion on the topic (thesis statement)

Practice 1.1

Below are two short introductions to two different genres of academic writing: a discursive essay and an academic research report. However, the sentences are all mixed up. Can you drag and drop them to the correct box, and place them in the correct order? The first sentences are already in the correct place.

Discursive essay: On the outside looking in
1.	The phenomenom of globalization has resulted in thousands of people living and working in a country that they did not grow up in.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Academic Research Report: The truth about learning a second language
1.	It is quite common for young people to learn a second language.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

a. This means that many adults find themselves pursuing a career in a culture they are not familiar with, where the native language is not their own.

b. In fact, many university students in Hong Kong are learning in a second, or even a third language.

c. The most common advice about getting the most out of living and working abroad, is to learn the local language and culture as quickly as possible.

d. The benefits of this are said to be many, such as the ability to travel abroad more easily, and do business better with foreigners.

e. This essay explores three significant impacts of not understanding the language you hear and see around you on a daily basis, and concludes that being on the outside is not as stressful as people might think.

f. This study shows that the students themselves don't always find that their language skills provide academic and other benefits, when compared to students who only know one language.

g. However, there is little research to show whether this gives them an advantage over their monolingual peers.

h. However, the benefits of remaining an outsider are rarely discussed.

i. The results will be useful for educators involved in curriculum planning.

j. Some researchers even claim that people who learn a second language have more flexible thinking ability than monolingual people (https://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/2/387).

Discursive essay	Academic Research Report

Notice that, in both introductions, the first sentence is rather general. As you read through the example paragraphs,
the topic becomes more specific, so that at the end the reader knows what this piece of writing will focus on.
This 'shape' (wide narrow, or general specific) is common in the introductions to academic writing.

2. Strengthen your thesis statement

The thesis statement in academic writing is a clear signpost to your readers, telling them what your writing is about. It should contain the writer's own opinion on the topic (so that it is arguable) and give the readers an idea of the scope of the writing, i.e. is it about your university only, or the whole of Asia, or....? It may also include a brief indication of the points that your writing will explore. The thesis statement is usually found at the end of the introduction.

Here is the thesis statement from the discursive essay in Practice 1:

"This essay explores three significant impacts of not understanding the language you hear and see around you on a daily basis, and concludes that being on the outside is not as stressful as people might think."

1. Does this thesis statement tell the reader what the writing is about? Yes - it's about the impacts of not understanding the language around you.

2. Does it include the writer's own opinion? Yes - that not understanding the local language is not as stressful as others may think.

3. Does it provide a scope?" Yes - this essay will explore both reading and listening (not just one of those skills)

4. Any indication of the points that will be covered? A little - there will be three of them, but it is not stated what they are.

Here are some more thesis statements, but some of them are not very successful. After reading each one, choose the most appropriate evaluation of it from the list given.

Thesis Statement	Evaluation
1. Five strong environmental reasons for limiting the world's population growth are explored here.
2. This essay believes that mental health care is improving.
3. This report supports the idea that all developed countries should allow refugees to remain and work.
4. Smoking is bad for your health and some governments are legislating against it.
5. By exploring how three families cope with dementia, we conclude that the government should provide more care facilities.
6. Murder, whether committed by knife, or gun, or poison, is a crime throughout the world.

Practice 3: Relevance

The thesis statement not only helps your reader to decide whether to read on, but it also helps the writer to stay focused throughout the text. All topic sentences in each paragraph should be relevant to the thesis statement.

Here are some essay plans, with the thesis statement from the introduction and the topic sentence of each following paragraph. In each case, one of the topic sentences seems irrelevant. Can you find it? Click on it to see if you are right.

Essay Plan A

Thesis statement: This essay argues that smoking should not be banned in public places for three main reasons.

Topic sentence 1: People are sensible enough to move away from non-smokers when they light up a cigarette.

Topic sentence 2: Smokers do not tend to litter public places, as they use designated smokers' bins.

Topic sentence 3: The government needs the tax revenue from the sale of cigarettes.

Conclusion

Essay Plan B

Thesis statement: Although students who have a part-time job can help pay for their education, students shouldn't work part-time because their academic studies will be negatively affected.

Topic sentence 1: Part-time work takes valuable study time away from students' week.

Topic sentence 2: If students do not have time to complete assignments because of a part-time job, their GPA will suffer.

Topic sentence 3: People who don't exercise regularly are more likely to put on weight than people who do.

Conclusion

Essay Plan C

Thesis statement: We argue that environmental problems could be the cause of conflict between countries in the future.

Topic sentence 1: Essential resources, like water, are becoming more scarce and expensive.

Topic sentence 2: Scientists are developing crops that can grow in more extreme climates.

Topic sentence 3: Countries close to the equator will become hotter faster, so people living there will want to move to countries further north or south that may already be overcrowded.

Conclusion

Essay Plan D

Thesis statement: Despite its association with warfare, energy produced from nuclear fission is an effective solution to the fossil fuel problem.

Topic sentence 1: Nuclear fission can produce a lot more energy than fossil fuels.

Topic sentence 2: Nuclear energy comes from the sun and the stars.

Topic sentence 3: Whilst the process of creating energy from fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases, using nuclear energy instead is clean.

Conclusion

For examples of phrases you can use in your introduction, please see here:
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/introducing-work/

CONGRATULATIONS! You have completed this workout and improved your writing fitness. Your results are below. Record your results as proof of independent learning. Take a rest, then repeat this workout to beat your personal best, or try a different one.

Suggested next workout: Academic Writing 4, Conclusions

Student's Name (Type in):
Final Result of Writing 3

Date:

Activity Correct Maximum Percentage

Practice 1 0 0%

Practice 1.1 0 0%

Practice 2 0 0%

Practice 3 0 0%

Total Score 0 0%

Time Taken:

Activity	Correct	Maximum	Percentage
Practice 1	0		0%
Practice 1.1	0		0%
Practice 2	0		0%
Practice 3	0		0%
Total Score	0		0%