ENGLISH 24 INTRODUCTION EXERCISE

Take a look at the following examples of introductions. Based on what the writer has said in each introduction, answer the following two questions in the spaces provided onscreen:
  1. What is the writer's thesis statement?
  2. What information do you expect to find in the paragraphs that follow?

Please type the words "Thesis statement:" and "Information expected:" before your answers.

Please note that questions L and M ask you to evaluate the most effective and least effective of the ten introductions.

TYPE ALL OF YOUR ANSWERS INTO THE SPACES PROVIDED ONSCREEN. WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED, CLICK THE BUTTON THAT SAYS "SUBMIT."

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  1. We all obey authority from the first day that we are born; first it's our parents then Teachers, Police and etc... We listen and obey because it's easy to obey authority. But sometimes it is dangerous to follow orders that would harm other people. Can we see this? Can we stand by something like this? History shows us that most of the time people will take the easy way and follow orders either because they are scared or they think that somebody should decide for them as they started their life dependent on other human beings. Stanley Milgram was a psychologist who decided to study how far normal people will obey an order even if they know that they are harming other people. He believed that people would obey authority like history shows us. Milgram was interested in the reason for people's actions. Milgram's strong study and its conclusions are shocking. To be able to understand his theory and conclusion we have to take a look at his life, experience, and the factors that led him to this study.

  2. Advertisements have played a great role for the companies to make a profit. Due to effective advertising, companies can inform the consumers about their products or services. An effective advertisement is essential to a company's survival because it raises their capital and reputation.

  3. "One of the social issues dealt with in Ibsen's problem plays is the oppression of women by conventions limiting them to a domestic life. In Hedda Gabler the heroine struggles to satisfy her ambitious and independent intellect within the narrow role society allows her. Unable to be creative in the way she desires, Hedda's passions become destructive both to others and herself." (from http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/SampleEssaysLit.html)

  4. Today, there are uncountable Web Pages. Not only many companies, but also anyone who has knowledge of computers is able to create a Website. However, not all the WebPages can attract users’ attention. Some of them can be favored because they are easy for the users to understand and enjoy, but some of them can’t. It depends on if the Webwriter knows how users read on the WebPages. When we make a Web Page, the most basic thing that we have to remember is that reading texts on the web and reading texts in print are totally different tasks.

  5. Artificial Intelligence, AI for short, is the focus of present computer technology. The purpose of AI is to understand the nature of intelligence and to create systems, which can mimic human thought, understand speech, beat the best human chess player and other feats (An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, nd). The goal of AI research is to make computers able to reason and solve problems in the same way humans do. Artificial Intelligence is a combination of computer science, physiology, and philosophy. The research into the areas of learning, of language, and of sensory perception has aided scientists in building intelligent machines. AI has come a long way from its early roots. It began to intrigue researchers with the invention of the computer in 1943 (An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, nd). After 50 years researching, scientists have got great success in exploring the area of AI. From machine vision to expert systems, there are a great deal of successful achievements, such as all kinds of intelligent robots, the research on Natural Language Processing and neural networks.

  6. Have you ever tried dieting? If you are female, the answer would be yes, or even if you are male, the answer could be yes, too. There is nobody who doesn't care about the appearance a bit. Now, I am on the diet, too because I wan to have an attractive looking body that is slim. Like me, a lot of people start to diet. Some of them succeed and others don't. Unfortunately, some people who have low self-esteem are likely to have trouble with dieting and develop eating disorders. There are two main eating disorders. The first one is anorexia nervosa in which people starve themselves. The second one is bulimia nervosa in which people can't control their eating habit and eat large amount of food, and then they throw it up. In recent studies, the scholars found the causes, the symptoms, the physical and psychological effects and the treatments.

  7. Our language is an important part of our identity as human beings. People understand each other by language. When a child says his first word, his parents feel glad because it means that child to be able to communicate with them. When we grow up, our language develops and improves. We can express our love, our happiness, our pain by words, by language. The creation and transmission of culture depends heavily on the human capacity to develop and use language. Equipped with language, humans can transmit their experiences, ideas, and knowledge to others. Children can be taught things without any actual experience of their part. Although it may take some time and repetition, children can be taught the dangers of fire and heights without being burned or toppling down the stairs. This principle of learning, of course, applies to other cultural patterns, such as exhibiting patriotism, consuming food, or staying awake in church. The interaction of language and culture in terms of the theory expressed by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf states that only through language can culture be created.

  8. "Throughout history and through a cross-section of cultures, women have transformed their appearance to conform to a beauty ideal. Ancient Chinese aristocrats bound their feet as a show of femininity; American and European women in the 1800s cinched in their waists so tightly, some suffered internal damage; in some African cultures women continue to wear plates in their lower lips, continually stretching the skin to receive plates of larger size. The North American ideal of beauty has continually focussed on women's bodies: the tiny waist of the Victorian period, the boyish figure in vogue during the flapper era, and the voluptuous curves that were the measure of beauty between the 1930s and 1950s. Current standards emphasize a toned, slender look, one that exudes fitness, youth, and health. According to psychologist Eva Szekely, "Having to be attractive at this time . . . means unequivocally having to be thin. In North America today, thinness is a precondition for being perceived by others and oneself as healthy" (19). However, this relentless pursuit of thinness is not just an example of women trying to look their best, it is also a struggle for control, acceptance and success." (from http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/SampleEssaysExpos.html)

  9. Memory is the process of storing and retrieving information. Without memory, life as we know it would vanish. We would have no names, no knowledge of ecstasy, or love. In order to know anything at all, we are dependent on the process by which the brain stores and retrieves information.

  10. Culture and language are two very close conceptions. They are interconnected and develop in dependence from each other. It means that cultural changes lead to the appearance of new words and new definitions of events. On the other hand, language innovations identify changes of culture of thought among different members of society, influence on their behavior. So language determines our culture and reflects reality.

  11. Several ethnic groups have been through inhuman circumstances brought upon by others. Examples of such cases are the Jews during the Holocaust, the Japanese during World War II, and Africans during slavery. One factor that separates Africans from the other two ethnic groups is reparation. Reparation is making amends for wrong doings by compensating for damage done unto a nation. African slaves, whose labor built the foundation of America, had no wealth to leave behind for future generations. Instead, they left behind decades of struggles, poverty, racism, and social handicap.

    Although slavery in America ended in 1865, its impacts are still hindering African American’s full potential of social and economical development. Years after slavery, factors such as segregation, education, and Jim Crow laws inhibited freed-men from exercising real freedom. These historical conditions have been a social and economical setback in the black community. Current conditions in the black community reflect generations of oppression.

    It is now the 21st century, yet America and existing companies of this land who capitalized on slave labor have not taken responsibility. Furthermore, America and these companies are responsible for compensating victims of slavery. The issue at hand is that slavery in North America lasted centuries, and during that time period African slaves lived and worked in horrifying circumstances. Moreover, emancipation of the slaves did not eliminate hardship, but introduced new ways to inhibit the progress of the black community. Hundreds of years after slavery, the wounds of the black community have not healed. It is time for profiteers of slave labor to make amends of the immoral capitalism of slavery.

  12. Which of these introductions did you find the MOST effective? Please explain why you found it the most effective.

  13. Which of these introductions did you find the LEAST effective? Please explain why you found it the least effective.

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Last updated on March 28, 2003