Framed Introductions and Conclusions

Devising Beginnings and Endings, Introductions and Conclusions

Often, getting an essay started and getting it concluded can trouble students more than finding something to say in between. Students can always rely, on the old

standbys: the traditional introduction and conclusion, telling the audience what will be said and concluding with what has been said. Granted, this approach works well enough but these crusty techniques come off as predictable and boring.

Remember:…The Hook, Introduction and Conclusion Are similar to the

packaging of a gift. While the contents of

what’s inside is what matters most, the packaging can either build our anticipation – or not.

Your goal as a writer is to captivate your reader’s attention, build intrigue and anticipation.

What Is a Framing Device?

It is a single word, a literary/historical reference, or a personal narrative that can provide a fresh way into and out of one’s writing, surrounding it much like a window frame surrounds a glass pane or a decorative frame surrounds a picture or mirror.

Just as the right picture frame becomes one with the painting, the right rhetorical frame becomes one with the composition, enhancing as well as complementing. This frame not only starts and concludes the writing, but can also: reinforce the main idea offer a broader perspective or even interject a bit of

humor.

Why use the “Frame Up”?IT’S CREATIVE

Man has an innate sense of wonder. We hunger after intrigue. We desire to discover. We do not want to have the resolution and plot revealed in the movie trailer. We do not want to know who dunnit, if the guy gets the girl, or which guy gets the girl – right away.

Likewise, your hook/introduction should grab our attention, connect the reader to your topic, and build up to a specific claim.

A carefully crafted frame can make satisfying metaphorical connections for both reader and writer, giving a paper a deeper sense of meaning and a way into and out of an assignment that escapes traditional patterns such as, “In conclusion,...”

Three Different Framing Devices1. The Single-Word, Single-Image Frame

2. Allusions as Framing Devices 3. Personal Experience as a Framing Device

Option #1: Elaborating on a single word or image Your approach to beginning your essay is

inspired by a word or image you powerfully and appropriately associate with your topic and stance.

Recall Ms. Mo’s story of the glassy lake and how it is a metaphor for her identity.

The Single-Word, Single-Image Frame

The good/bad, shades of grey INTRODUCTION

Shades of Grey:Making decisions during the Cold War

It is difficult to determine if decisions are good or bad when politics are involved. Rather, the political world is shadowed by shades of grey.  Mostly, the people at home think that decisions made by our leaders are good. However, abroad, those same decisions can appear negative. During the Cold War, the United States made many good decisions to completely stop the spread of communism at home and abroad. However, besides many good decisions, the U.S. also made bad choices that left several resentments between nations. (Thesis)

The Single-Word, Single-Image Frame

The good/bad, shades of grey CONCLUSIONAlthough the United States made many good decisions during the Cold War, there were bad decisions that left some countries in disagreement with the United States. The CIA involvement with the Cuban Missile Crisis negatively impacted the United States’ international relations. The Korean War and the Marshall plan helped prevent the spread of communism abroad, while McCarthyism led to the cruel execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Independent of how good or bad the choices were that the United States made, they were determined with the objective of ending communism and preventing both spread at home and abroad. Rarely are decisions wholly good or bad, rather they are grey shades of perspective.

The Single-Word, Single-Image FrameAn Example Syndicated columnist William Safire relies on the single word

tsunami, as a metaphorical framing device.

In a 1994 article, he calls on tsunami, the Japanese word for a “great wave caused by underwater seismic shock,” to frame an article on the shock that caused the conservative wave of that year. His introduction connects the definition of tsunami with the main idea of his article: the majority of voters “shook up” legislators to express their lack of faith in an ever-growing government.

The column ends with a second mention of the tsunami, identifying it as a shock that does indeed change everything and that leads to exciting days politically, an analogy that reinforces his (but not everyone’s) opinion.

Ms. Mo’s free-write: “IMPACT” Seldom do men think that they have impact on others. or maybe they do. In fact

doesn’t every man want to be significant. But the world screams and whispers and taunts and challenges and throw the gauntlet down to “be a man” by external measures. They say, those voices, say, make money. Your worth and identity are determined by your salary, your title, your height, your muscles, the # of girls and types of girls that like you. But I now from personal experience…that is not a measure of a man. Even comedian Russell peters jokes around that in the Chinese culture, there is a pressure to “be a man” by paying the full price. It is a funny out of context allusion to that the essence of a man is his honor. We forget that these days. And in john mayer’s song, “Daughters” he reminds us of not just old-fashioned values, but rather, he reminds of the importance, the impact, a man can make in a dominoe effect on society. Impact means impression. Actually, it can mean influence. Ripples of influence. When you impact one person, you actually have no idea how that person will impact others in turn…and HOW many people that person will impact. It’s scary and POWERFUL to think that a man has so much influence and impact on our society just by ONE RELATIONSHIP – his relationship and treatment of his baby girl from birth to adulthood.

Ms. Mo’s free-write: “IMPACT”Directions: Write what comes to mind as you brainstorm on the single word/image. Throw out “critic’s voice” in your head Seldom do men think that they have impact on others. or maybe they do. In fact

doesn’t every man want to be significant. But the world screams and whispers and taunts and challenges and throw the gauntlet down to “be a man” by external measures. They say, those voices, say, make money. Your worth and identity are determined by your salary, your title, your height, your muscles, the # of girls and types of girls that like you. But I now from personal experience…that is not a measure of a man. Even comedian Russell peters jokes around that in the Chinese culture, there is a pressure to “be a man” by paying the full price. It is a funny out of context allusion to that the essence of a man is his honor. We forget that these days. And in john mayer’s song, “Daughters” he reminds us of not just old-fashioned values, but rather, he reminds of the importance, the impact, a man can make in a dominoe effect on society. Impact means impression. Actually, it can mean influence. Ripples of influence. When you impact one person, you actually have no idea how that person will impact others in turn…and HOW many people that person will impact. It’s scary and POWERFUL to think that a man has so much influence and impact on our society just by ONE RELATIONSHIP – his relationship and treatment of his baby girl from birth to adulthood.

Your turn to practice: Single-Word, Single-Image Frame Choose a word or short phrase that is

significant to or metaphorical for your topic Free-write on that word or phrase for 5

minutes Use portions of that free-write to open your

piece or introduce your thesis. Touch on/reflect on that word or phrase again

in your conclusion Use a bit for your title

Option #2: Allusion

A reference to a historical/world event or figure, literature, or pop culture

Ex: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Opening lines: “I wish I was good looking as Paul

Newman…” One of the characters, while hiding away in a

church, passes away time by reading Gone With the Wind.

Allusions as a framing device:

An example A student might write a paper on the relationship between humans and plants.

Introduction “Ring around the rosies, a pocket full of posies . . . ” During the

Middle Ages peasant, monks and kings carried a pocket full of flowers to mask the stench of death during the time of the black plague. This is only one of the many useful purposes of plants that have benefited us throughout the ages. Plants and human beings have an integral relationship that demands respect. (Thesis)

Conclusion The paper could then conclude with a reinforcement of the warning

that we depend on plant life to add quality to our own lives: “Without plants, life on Earth would cease to exist as we know it: ‘ashes, ashes, we all fall down.’”

Using folk and fairy tales as allusions One student, writing about her struggle with obesity, puts to use

the question that opens Snow White:

Introduction “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” The evil

queen in Snow White asks this question daily to reassure herself of her beauty. However, in my world the question is not “Who is the fairest, rather it’s, “Who is the fattest?” It is all I can think about as I stand in front of that cruel mirror that taunts me each day as I get ready for school.

Conclusion I now realize that my struggle is not all that different from my

peers who are looking for a way to fit into our glossy, magazine world. Today when I stand in front of the mirror and wide-eyed see the girl staring back, I ask confidently, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the healthiest of them all?”

Your turn to practice: Allusions as a framing device Choose something from history, literature, or

popular culture that is significant to or metaphorical for your topic

Free-write on that allusion for 3-5 minutes Use portions of that free-write to open your

piece or introduce your thesis. Touch on/reflect on that allusion again in your

conclusion Use a bit for your title

Option #3: Narrative

A narrative is any story or anecdote you tell. Use the sentencing tree branches here to

paint a vivid scene relevant to your topic and claim.

A personal narrative frame example: In paper on the negative impact television violence can have on children, a

student begins with a description of his family’s extended Thanksgiving dinner.

Introduction The peacefulness I felt as the family members gathered to give thanks for

all our blessings vanished once I entered the family room where my younger cousins were mobilized in front of the television for the Power Rangers program. After watching intensely physical confrontations between red and blue clad warriors, the normally docile three- to twelve-year-olds turned into “miniature fighting machines.” They eagerly kicked and punched any interloper including me with no reprimand from their parents. I had to seriously question the laissez faire child-rearing attitudes of my aunts and uncles. This incident reflects the growing problem of children’s viewing of television violence and the need for solutions to this problem. (Thesis)

Conclusion The writer concludes by offering a plan for handling the situation at the next

Thanksgiving dinner: “I may not be the most popular cousin for turning off the Power Rangers, but what is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular. I can live with not being popular.”

Personal Experience as a Framing Device:

An example On a much different note, a student could manipulate his memories of a particular odor into a framing device.

For example, for an assignment in writing a reflective memoir, a student might describe his first car-purchasing experience.

Introduction As I opened the door of the polished ’76 Mustang, the musty smell

of the used car and “Blue Bouquet” air freshener filled my senses. I looked at my dad with a sense of pride and winked to tell him this car was definitely the one.

Conclusion Regardless of where I am or what I am doing, whenever I smell the

scent of a Blue Bouquet air freshener, I can hear the rumble of the exhaust behind me, feel the air rustling my hair, and sense the urge to slam the pedal to the floor so I can feel the sheer bone-crunching power of acceleration.

Your turn to practice: Personal Experience as a Framing Device

Choose an experience that is significant to or metaphorical for your topic

Free-write on that experience for 3-5 minutes Use portions of that free-write to open your

piece or introduce your thesis. Touch on/reflect on that experience again in

your conclusion Use a bit for your title

Where do we find rhetorical frames in the “real world”? A good place to find

rhetorical frames commonly used by professional writers is in newspapers that run feature articles and columnists.

EXTRA CREDIT: Earn up to three extra

credit points by scanning your newspapers and magazines for rhetorical frames and turning these in by

______________.

Framing Traps TRAP #1

Sometimes a framing device can take on a life of its own, becoming more developed than the content. It is a, pun intended, “runaway frame.” For example, in a student’s essay that describes a

supposedly distasteful fast-food job she held in one town while living in another. For her introduction and conclusion, she gives a hair-raising account of her forty-minute commute to work over black ice. Although the purpose of her paper was to dissuade readers from taking a position at the particular restaurant where she worked, the overly long framing device was far more compelling. No reader would want to live down that hill after reading about the slippery road, the traffic, the delays, and the danger.

Framing Traps TRAP #2

Sometimes writers do not make clear the relation between their framing device and the body of the paper. One student began and ended a paper on the Cuban

missile crisis with quotes from Hamlet. “To be or not to be,” the paper begins, ending with the lines, “whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them . . . .” One may imagine many connections between these words from Shakespeare and the events of the Cuban missile crisis, but the writer did not articulate any of them. Be on the lookout for these connections that have not yet

made it from the your mind to your paper.

The Frame UpOnce

again… A carefully crafted frame can: make satisfying metaphorical connections for both

reader and writer, give the paper a deeper sense of meaning, an extra dimension of authenticity, a satisfying sense of closure, and overall, the paper will project a wholeness, a

coming full circle, that essays with traditional, often ordinary introductions and conclusions sometimes lack.