ConversationIntroductory and Conclusion: Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and an employee at the student writing center. Student: Hi, I'm Anthony Rivera. Sorry, I'm late. I lost my student ID badge and was hoping to get a new one at the security office. But the machine that creates the badges broke when they tried to make me one. Employee: No worries. So let's get started. When you signed up for this session online, you indicated that you were working on something about the Domesday Book. Tell me a little about it. Student: Well. It's the result of a large tax survey. It determined the year 1086. The survey was done because William, the conqueror, wanted to know how much tax he could assess on his new land, England. You see he came from France and conquered England in 1066. Employee: Okay. And what can I do to help you? Student: Well, there are a few things. First, I don't think my introductory paragraph is very good. I mean I think it grabs the readers' attention, engages my audience, but it has weighed too many words. Employee: Okay. Well, what we usually tell people is that introduction should be only about 5% of your total word count. The idea is to give some background on your topic. And of course, you need a clear thesis statement, which should focus on the specific argument that you will deal with in your paper. Student: Okay, I've done that. I'm arguing that the Domesday Book is an excellent source of history, because it's really detailed, I mean it's purely factual. I don't think there's any biases. You know. Employee: All right. Now remember you need to have support for your thesis. Student: So like ... find other sources that agree with my point of view. Employee: Yeah. And you also use facts and examples found in the Domesday Book. And this information will make up the body of your paper. The body is the meat of your work, everything but the introduction and conclusion. Student: So that leaves the conclusion, right? Employee: Correct. And that should also be about five percent of your paper. Student: And then I'm gonna have to work on that. My conclusions lasts longer than my introduction. And now I'm also thinking it might have been a bad idea to include a new fact in the conclusion. Employee: Probably. A good conclusion, normally restate your thesis and briefly summarizes the evidence that supports your argument. And then what I think is most important and yet is so commonly overlooked. You want to finish with some sort of broad evaluation, maybe make a recommendation or something that will leave readers thinking, something unique they can take away with them. Student: Got it. I'll add all that to my conclusion. And since I don't have it yet, and thanks, my grades in the class have been kind of low. So maybe this will help.