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AP English Language AMSCO Guided Notes

4.1: Introductions and Conclusions

AP English Language
AMSCO Guided Notes
4.1 Introductions and Conclusions
4.2 Thesis and Structure
4.3 Comparison, Contrast, Description, and Definition

AP English Language Guided Notes

AMSCO 4.1 - Introductions and Conclusions

Essential Questions

  1. How does a writer address the purpose and context of the rhetorical situation in an introduction and conclusion of an essay?
I. Introductions and Conclusions Enduring Understanding and Skills

1. How does the metaphor of the parlor help explain the purpose of an introduction in an essay?

2. What is the relationship between introductions and conclusions in argumentative essays?

II. 1.1 Introductions

1. What is the primary role of an introduction in an argument?

A. Addressing the Rhetorical Situation

1. How can a writer use an introduction to address the audience's needs, values, and prior knowledge?

2. What questions should a writer ask about purpose and exigence when crafting an introduction?

3. How can an introduction establish the writer's credibility and reveal the essay's context?

B. Orienting, Focusing, and Engaging an Audience

1. What are the different strategies a writer can use to engage an audience in an introduction?

2. How do quotations, anecdotes, and statistics function differently as opening strategies?

3. When might a writer choose to use a question or scenario as an introduction rather than a direct thesis?

III. Conclusions

1. What is the relationship between a conclusion and the rest of the argument?

2. How does a conclusion differ from simply ending an essay?

A. The Goals of Conclusions

1. What are the key goals that effective conclusions fulfill?

2. How can a conclusion bring an argument full circle by connecting to the introduction?

3. What techniques can a writer use to leave the reader with a compelling final impression?

4. How does repeating or echoing words and phrases from the introduction strengthen a conclusion?

B. Addressing the Rhetorical Situation in Conclusions

1. What are the different strategies a writer can use to address the audience in a conclusion?

2. How can a conclusion explain significance, make connections, or call the audience to action?

3. When should a conclusion summarize the argument, and when might it be more effective to avoid summary?

Key Terms

audience

context

conclusion

introduction

purpose