Reintroducing Introductions

I've made to make several introductions in the past week,  introducing myself as a writing consultant to you MALS students as well as introducing  my mind to a new job. Which got me thinking about introductions of the scholarly research paper kind. Right about now, while you are concluding your work for this semester, spend a little time thinking about your introduction too. Read further for some introductory words of wisdom.

I'll admit it. Introductions stress me out.

I know I am not alone. Think about the times you've introduced yourself to someone whom you consider important. Knowing that we get only one chance to wow that person with a fabulous first impression, we'll change clothes eleven times, practice our "hellos" in the mirror, and down enough Tic-Tacs for wintergreen to show up on a blood test. Yet when it comes to writing an introduction for our papers, we may not give our opening paragraphs the attention they deserve.

We discount the introduction for a few different reasons, I believe. Sometimes we are so focused on perfecting our argument that the introduction becomes, rather ironically, an afterthought. We write one, of course, but only because we are supposed to and not because we think it matters much. An introduction treated this way becomes filler, as boring and inconsequential as packing peanuts, which, when pushed aside, eventually lead to an exciting parcel.

However, I suspect that a common, yet less conscious reason that we as writers settle for half-baked introductions is that we choke: we become nearly as nervous about making a great first impression in our paper as we do when meeting a blind date (okay, not quite that nervous). Writing the introduction can be intimidating, and that's understandable: an introduction is a point of no return. Once you write one, you must follow up with meaningful content. In other words, if you make an introduction, you are implying that you have even more important words to support your initial statements. There is no going back - you must write the paper. If this describes you, go ahead and save writing the intro for later, after you've built up your paper and your confidence a bit by writing a section or two of the body. Just don't neglect the introduction when you do write it.

Which brings me to the point of this post.....

Whatever attitude you may have taken when writing introductions in the past, I ask you to adopt a renewed sense of respect for the first page(s) of your papers. Treat your introduction as the important opening to your argument that it is. A strong introduction accomplishes the following:

1. Your introduction should truly introduce your argument. You can approach this in a few different ways. Tell a story that includes a problem that your argument will address. Give your reader a sense of the current state of the field, discipline(s), or enterprises for which your thesis adds knowledge or helps to solve a problem. Whatever you do, make sure your introduction leads into your thesis statement, thereby launching your argument. 
2. Your introduction should quickly and effectively "grab" the reader. Make it interesting. This is your paper's first impression, after all. Think about it as though you were asked to read a colleague's paper. If she made you sift through 100 words of aimless filler, how would that affect your attitude toward the rest of the paper? A strong, interesting introduction keeps the reader engaged. 

Finally, don't let the introduction intimidate you. This is one area of the paper where you can be a touch more creative and personal. Think about the what motivated you to choose the topic for your paper in the first place. Whatever made you excited about your argument is likely to interest the reader, so use the positive energy from your enthusiasm to draw your reader into your discussion. After all, you have so much more to say.

Embracing the Challenge

Good evening readers! I am honored and excited to be taking on the post of MALS Online Writing Consultant for ETSU's Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program. I completed my MALS degree in Spring 2010. As a student, I served as the graduate assistant for the MALS program. I designed and wrote a large portion of the MALS Writing Center. My mission for this blog is to provide current Liberal Studies graduate students with information that will keep them grounded in the writing process as they complete rigorous programs of study that include interdisciplinary seminar papers, culminating projects, and theses.

As a MALS alumna, I know how frustrating the writing process can be, especially for students returning to the academic world after a long time away. As a MALS student, you are thrust into a world of interdisciplinary scholarship in which you encounter theory and vocabulary you never even knew existed (transdisciplinarity, anyone?) and learn to analyze complex problems through an interdisciplinary lens. Add to this challenging program a seemingly insurmountable workload, and the thought of writing clearly and effectively in such a way that incorporates this newly formed perspective can bring tears to the eyes of the most dedicated student.

As I embark upon my duties as a writing consultant, let me share with you these words of comfort : graduate school is supposed to be hard. You will finish each semester thinking, "How in the world did I actually read all and write all of that?!? Next semester couldn't possibly be as demanding!" Alas, the next semester will probably be just as demanding.

You are probably hoping  to hear that it gets easier. The truth is that the demands of graduate school will remain rigorous and at times seem to border on ridiculous. What I can say is that the difficulty becomes easier to manage as you progress through your program of study. You will get through it.

Cheers.

What's In a Word?

One of my responsibilities as MALS Writing Consultant is to periodically post some thoughts on writing that may become food for thought. The following is my first attempt. Writing can be a scary thing because it always requires that we "put ourselves out there," even if we are only writing thoughts in a personal journal to never be shared with another living being. I look forward to working with you and providing any kind of assistance to help the writing process become a joy rather than torture.

When we decided to become graduate students, one thing was certain: we knew we would be expected to write lots and lots of papers! All of us wrote papers in high school and undergraduate school. The bar is raised, however, for the graduate student. The kinds of errors tolerated (whether structural or content) in the early years are no more. The expectations are great, and we are expected to deliver. Nothing can be more terrifying (at least it was for me) than reviewing the syllabus for a grad class and finding that you will have 5 or more papers due during the semester (And that’s for one class!) I can remember driving home from my first day of classes in tears wondering, “How will I get it all done?”, and thinking, “What in the world have I gotten myself into!”

The time has arrived, and we have to get started. We have our first assignment: a five-page paper on [fill in the blank]. Where to begin? A little research perhaps? Mark Twain observed, “The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.” (http://www.quotegarden.com/writing.html) A Google search on “how to improve academic writing” resulted in 1,550,000 hits! It is obvious that millions of words have been written to advise academics (remember, we are academics) on the myriad of ways to improve their writing. That makes it a challenge for me to come up with some solid advice to get us started on our collective way to sharpening our writing skills. So, like the good scholar I try to be, I turned to some experts at Dartmouth University for assistance:

The Dartmouth Writing Program suggests three concepts that must be understood by students in order to write academic papers:
• Academic writing is done by scholars for other scholars.
(As a college student, you became a part of the academic community in which you will engage in “centuries old” scholarly activities: “read[ing] about, think[ing] about, argu[ing] about and writ[ing] about great ideas.”)
• Academic writing is devoted to topics and questions that are of interest to the academic community.
(It goes without saying that choosing a topic can be extremely difficult. That said, your professor is your first line of defense so pay attention to what he/she shares with you regarding context, presentation, and style.)
• Academic writing should present the reader with an informed argument.
(The Dartmouth Writing Program proffers, “To construct an informed argument, you must first try to sort out what you know about a subject from what you think about a subject.” In other words, learn what you can about your topic before you try to figure out what you think about it. The successful paper must inform or argue in order to “meet the expectations of the academic reader.”
(http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/what.shtml)

Knowing when to end our writing is a good lesson for all of us to learn. Economy of words and efficient and effective thought processes will take us far in this adventure known as academic writing. One of my professors argued that academic papers should not close with quotes, but I really like quotes. Thus, let’s hope that we never are on the receiving end of the following: “I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.” ~English Professor (Name Unknown), Ohio University (http://www.quotegarden.com/writing.html)

Welcome to the MALS Online Writing Center

Darcy will be demonstrating the chat and document functions in MALS 5000 class on Tuesday, September 28.