Student's guide to writing college papers, Fourth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2010
Draft your final introduction
Writing your final introduction and conclusion
Writing your paper
13.1 Draft Your Final Introduction
13.1.1 Describe the Current Situation
13.1.2 Restate Your Question as Something Not Known or Fully Understood
13.1.3 State the Significance of Your Question
13.1.4 State Your Claim
13.1.5 Write a New First Sentence
13.2 Draft Your Final Conclusion
13.2.1 Restate Your Claim
13.2.2 Point Out a New Significance, a Practical Application, or New Research
13.3 Write Your Title Last
13.4 Preparing an Oral Report
Once you have a complete draft and can see what you have in fact written, you can write your final introduction and conclusion. These two parts of your paper strongly influence how readers read and remember the rest, so it's worth your time to make them as clear as you can.
Your introduction has three goals. It should
✵ put your research in context;
✵ make your readers think they should read your paper;
✵ give them a framework for understanding it.
Your conclusion has two goals. It should
✵ leave readers with a clear idea of your claim;
✵ reinforce its importance.
13.1 Draft your final introduction
In chapter 7, we suggested that you sketch a working introduction with four steps:
1. Current situation or background. When this summarizes research, it's called a literature review. It puts your project in the context of what is known and thought about your topic and sets up the next step.
2. A statement of your research question. This states what isn't known or understood that your paper will answer. It typically begins with a but, however, or other word signaling a qualification.
3. The significance of your question. This answers So what? It is key to motivating your readers.
4. Your claim as an answer. This answers your research question.
As a way to prepare readers for the rest of your paper, these steps follow a seemingly natural progression:
Here's what we think we know.
Here's what we don't know.
Here's why we need an answer.
Here's the answer.
But those steps follow another pattern, one that is common not just in research papers but in all types of writing—term papers, essays, business documents, and many others. In most academic and professional writing, the pattern that introductions follow is a familiar dramatic one: stability—disruption and danger—resolution. It's a pattern we learned as toddlers, in the form of fairy tales:
Once upon a time . . . Fairy tales begin by “defining a world” so that we know what to expect. When we see Little Red Riding Hood walking through the forest, we know not to expect dragons and we are not surprised when a woodsman shows up. When we learn in another tale that a wise old king has a beautiful daughter but no sons, we don't look for a fairy godmother, but do expect to see knights (and maybe a dragon).
But then . . . Once we learn about that stable world, the next step is always trouble—a wolf, a talking fish, an evil stepmother, or one of those dragons.
And now the dragon's fire . . . The main body of a fairly tale is, of course, a story of peril for the main character. Here is where the wolf bares his teeth or the dragon shows his fire. It's the dragon's fire that makes him a problem that must be solved.
And they lived happily ever after. In the end, all is well. But that happy ending is brought about not through the efforts of the main character but through the work of a helper with special powers: the burly woodsman, a fairy godmother, the valiant knight.
Each move in the fairy tale has a corresponding part in the basic pattern of introductions, and so does each character: The main character is your reader. The dragon is your research question: it disrupts the stable world you describe in the opening. The dragon's fire is the significance of your question: it shows why that question is a problem by showing readers what they lose by not knowing its answer. The helper with special powers? That's you. Once you show readers that they need an answer to your question, you save the day by offering one.
The Dramatic Pattern of Introductions and Fairy Tales
The typical introduction to a research paper draws some of its ability to motivate readers from the dramatic pattern it shares with fairy tales:
Current Situation / Once upon a time . . .
The fairy tale defines a stable world that it will disrupt; the research paper defines a current way of thinking that it will show to be wrong, or at least inadequate.
Research Question / But then, the dragon . . .
The fairy tale disrupts its world with a problem creature; the research paper disrupts the current way of thinking with a problem question.
Significance of the Question / And now the dragon's fire . . .
The fairy tale puts its main character in danger; the research paper shows its readers what they will lose without an answer to its question.
Answer / And they lived happily ever after.
In the fairy tale, a helper with special powers steps in to remove the danger, thereby saving the day; in the research paper, the writer with special knowledge (learned from research) steps in to answer the question, thereby saving the day.
You can see how the pattern works in this abbreviated introduction (each sentence could be expanded to a paragraph or more):
Colleges report that binge drinking is increasing. We have long known its practical risks—death, injury, property damage. We also know that bingers ignore those risks, even after they have been told about them.situation But no one has yet determined what causes bingers to ignore those known risks: social influences, a personality attracted to risk, or a failure to understand the nature of the risks.question If we can determine why bingers ignore the risks of their actions, we can better understand not only the causes of this dangerous behavior but also the nature of risk-taking behavior in general.significance This study reports on our analysis of the beliefs of 300 first-year college students. We found that students more likely to binge knew more stories of other student's bingeing, so that they believed that bingeing is far more common than it actually is.answer
Whether they are conscious of it or not, readers look for those four elements, so you should understand them in some detail.
13.1.1 Describe the Current Situation
As a rule, writers begin with the ideas that their own work will extend, modify, or correct. For the kind of projects most beginners undertake, the current situation can be described in a few sentences:
Drinking has been a part of college life for centuries. From football weekends to fraternity parties, college students drink and often drink hard. For the most part, we have always thought of this drinking as harmless, part of college high jinks. But colleges are increasingly concerned about the kind of hard drinking called binge drinking. Colleges report that bingeing is on the rise, despite their efforts to teach students about the known risks—death, injury, property damage. Recently Smith (2008) has shown that bingers ignore those risks, even after they have been told about them.
When advanced students write a report for other researchers, this opening describes more fully a line of research studies that the report will extend or modify.
Ever since the first studies by Weber (1982) and Claus and Stiglitz (1982, 1985), colleges have known about the dangers and prevalence of binge drinking. The earliest research determined the prevalence of bingeing (Wang and Olefson 1988; James 1988; Geoffrey 1989), the gender mix of bingers (Wang 1990; Osborne 1992), and the risks (for a summary, see Mateland 2005). The latest research has focused on the causes and ways to prevent bingeing. Recently Smith (2008) has shown that bingers ignore those risks, even after they have been told about them.
Some advanced researchers go on like that for pages, citing scores of books and articles.
QUICK TIP
Two Alternatives to the Literature Review
Early in your career, you may not feel confident writing a review of the prior research on your topic. But you have two easy alternatives.
1. Use one source as your prior research.
If you have found one source that can set up your research question, use it as your current situation. You might copy one of the patterns in section 2.4.
2. Use your prior understanding.
Imagine your reader as someone like yourself before you started your research. Make your current situation what you thought then. This is where you can use a working hypothesis that you rejected: It might seem that X is so, but . . .
No one expects a beginner to provide an extensive review of the prior research. But you do have to define some stable context, a way of thinking about your issue that your research question will disrupt, improve, or amplify. The four most common sources of this context are these:
✵ What you believed before you began your research ( I used to think . . .).
✵ What others believe ( Most people think . . .).
✵ An event or situation ( What events seem to show is . . .).
✵ What other researchers have found ( Researchers have shown . . .).
You have other options. If you find a good one in your reading, use it. But these four are reliable ways to get your paper started.
WRITING IN GROUPS
Use Your Colleagues' Misunderstandings
If you cannot think of any reasonable stable context to state as your Current Situation, turn to your writing group. Ask them what they think of your topic: Why do you think students get involved in binge drinking? If their answer is wrong or misleading, that is the current thinking your paper will correct: “Many students think that . . ., but . . .”
13.1.2 Restate Your Question as Something Not Known or Fully Understood
After the opening context, state what is wrong or missing in that current way of thinking. Introduce this step with but, however, or some other term indicating that you're about to modify the received knowledge and understanding that you just described:
Drinking has been a part of college. . . . [B]ingers ignore those risks, even after they have been told about them.situation But no one has yet determined what causes bingers to ignore the known risks: social influences, a personality attracted to risk, or a failure to understand the nature of the risks.question restated as what we don't know
Note: Although you must build you paper around a research question, you should state it in your introduction not as a direct question—What causes bingeing?—but as an assertion that we don't know something: We don't know what causes bingeing.
13.1.3 State the Significance of Your Question
Now you must show your readers the significance of answering your research question. Imagine a reader asking that vexing question, So what?, then answer it. Frame your response as a larger cost of not knowing the answer to your research question:
Drinking has been a part of college. . . . [B]ingers ignore those risks, even after they have been told about them.situation But no one has . . . or a failure to understand the nature of the risks.question [So what?] Until we can determine why bingers ignore known risks of their actions, we will not be able to identify the causes of this dangerous behavior, which is essential if we are to find a way to control it.significance
Alternatively, you can phrase the cost as a benefit:
Drinking has been a part of college. . . . [B]ingers ignore those risks, even after they have been told about them.situation But no one has . . . or a failure to understand the nature of the risks.question [So what?] If we can determine why bingers ignore known risks of their actions, we can better understand not only the causes of this dangerous behavior but also the nature of risk-taking behavior in general.significance
You may struggle to answer that So what? because you don't know enough about the larger context of your research question. If nothing better comes to mind, state its significance in terms of what your class has studied:
Drinking has been a part of college. . . . [B]ingers ignore those risks, even after they have been told about them.situation But no one has . . . or a failure to understand the nature of the risks.question [So what?] If we can determine why bingers ignore known risks of their actions, we can better understand the psychology of pleasure and happiness that has been a major topic in our class.significance
13.1.4 State Your Claim
Once you state what isn't known or understood and why readers need to know it, readers want an answer:
Drinking has been a part of college. . . . [B]ingers ignore those risks, even after they have been told about them.situation But no one has . . . or a failure to understand the nature of the risks.question [So what?] If we can determine . . . the nature of risk-taking behavior in general.significance This study reports on our analysis of the beliefs of 300 first-year college students. We found that students more likely to binge knew more stories of other student's bingeing, so that they believed that bingeing is far more common than it actually is.claim/answer
If you have reason to hold your claim until the end of your paper, write a sentence to end your introduction that uses the key terms from that claim and that frames what follows but without completely revealing your claim.
Recent research suggests the key to this behavior lies not in bingers' knowledge of risk but in their beliefs about the prevalence of bingeing.promise of claim
Those four steps may seem mechanical, but they constitute the introductions to most research reports in every field, both inside the academic world and out.
QUICK TIP
Model Your Work on What You Read
As you read your sources, especially journal articles, watch for that four-part framework. You will not only learn a range of strategies for writing your own introductions but better understand the ones you read.
13.1.5 Write a New First Sentence
Some writers find it so hard to write the first sentence of a paper that they fall into clichés. Avoid these:
✵ Do not repeat the language of your assignment.
✵ Do not quote a dictionary definition: Webster's defines risk as . . .
✵ Do not try to be grand: For centuries philosophers have debated the burning question of . . . (Good questions speak their own importance.)
If you want to begin with something livelier than prior research, try one or more of these openers (but note the warning that follows):
1. A striking quotation:
“If you're old enough to fight for your country, you're old enough to drink to it.”
2. A striking fact:
A recent study reports that at most colleges three out of four students “binged” at least once in the previous thirty days, consuming more than seven drinks at a sitting. Almost half binge once a week, and those who binge most are not just members of fraternities, but their officers.
3. A relevant anecdote:
When Jim S., president of Omega Alpha, joined his fourth-year fraternity brothers in the State U tradition of “a fifth in your fourth,” by downing most of a fifth of whiskey in less than an hour, he didn't plan to become this year's eighth college fatality from alcohol poisoning.
You can combine all three:
It is often said that “if you're old enough to fight for your country, you're old enough to drink to it.”quotation Tragically, Jim S., president of Omega Alpha, no longer has a chance to do either. When he joined his fourth-year fraternity brothers in the State U tradition of “a fifth in your fourth,” by downing most of a fifth of whiskey in less than an hour, he didn't expect to become this year's eighth college fatality from alcohol poisoning.anecdote According to a recent study, at most colleges three out of four students have, like Jim S., drunk seven drinks at a sitting in the last thirty days. And those who drink the most are not just members of fraternities, but, like Jim S., officers.striking fact
Be sure to include in these openers terms that anticipate the key concepts you'll use when you write the rest of the introduction (and the rest of the paper). In this case, they include old enough, tradition, didn't expect, fatality, alcohol poisoning, three out of four.