Essay Intros and Conclusions

1. Essay Intros and Conclusions English III

2. Organize! • Make sure the essay is EASY for your reader to follow. • Include an introduction and a conclusion– neither should include information; just introduce and close the topic. • Make sure your intro starts with an exciting hook, shares your thesis, and includes your topics for your three body paragraphs. • Your conclusion should restate topics in body paragraphs, restate reworded thesis, and offer reflection for the reader.

3. Organize! • Example Intro: • What are the Black Hills? The Lakota people owned the Black Hills until Americans broke their treaty. Aaron Huey says that we should give back the Black Hills because the Lakota tribe needs this land to survive and the Americans broke the treaty. The Black Hills provide agricultural land, hunting, and land to build on.

4. Organize! • Example Intro: • Sacred land. High poverty. Broken promises. These are three things stated in Aaron Huey’s TED Talk. Aaron Huey states that the Black Hills should be returned to the Lakota because they are sacred. This would open the land for the Lakota, allowing them to grow crops and honor treaties.

5. Organize! • Example Intro: • The Black Hills were illegally taken from American Indians. What did Aaron Huey explain about the Black Hills? In the 1900’s, the American Indian population was at its lowest. The American Indians not only lost their land, but they also lost their rituals, language, and dances that were in every generation.

6. Organize! • Example Intro: • What is the price of sacred land? The government tried to give it a monetary value, but the Native Americans and Aaron Huey believe that they are priceless, that the hills aren’t for sale. The Black Hills are deep wells of history and heritage, even considered sacred. They were stolen, though, when a treaty was broken.

7. Your Task • Write an conclusion to one of the provided introductions. • Make sure your conclusion… • Restates the thesis. • Restates the three topics. • Gives a reflective statement or question.

8. Example Intro: • What are the Black Hills? The Lakota people owned the Black Hills until Americans broke their treaty. Aaron Huey says that we should give back the Black Hills because the Lakota tribe needs this land to survive and the Americans broke the treaty. The Black Hills provide agricultural land, hunting, and land to build on. • Example Conclusion: • It is clear: the Black Hills are a sacred land with immense meaning to the Lakota people. This is why Aaron Huey claims these lands must be returned to the Lakota; they were taken through the breaking of a treaty, and the Lakota need the land for survival. This nation could use the land for agriculture, hunting, and building. The Lakota are now left to wonder: when will justice be served?