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he following information is an example of a SLSO. Although the Body of this SLSO is
different from the format of the Body of your SLSO the Introduction and the Conclusion is the
same as the SLSO that you will develop. This SLSO illustrates the level of detail that is
expected in the SLSO that you will hand in.
Paragraph Matters—Developing Paragraph Writing Skills for Essays
Name of the Presenter: Ann P. Orator
General Purpose: To inform my audience
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the form and substance of an academic essay
I. INTRODUCTION:
A. Attention-getting statement: How you write matters: it especially matters as a
university student.
i. Within the context of your tertiary education, the written documents that you
produce enhance your learning and knowledge of a subject and demonstrate
understanding of that subject.
B. Statement of ethos: I have substantial knowledge about this topic having been both a
student and an instructor in tertiary education for the last 25 years.
C. Statement of exigence: All professionally written academic documents begin with
well-written paragraphs.
i. Essays without clearly written paragraphs are simply a rambling jumble of
junk words. This means that how you write your paragraphs matters if you
want your essay to get a high distinction.
D. Thesis: Effective academic essays are based upon clearly structured and
appropriately articulated paragraphs.
E. This presentation will cover the structure and content of introductory, body and
concluding essay paragraphs.
(Transition: Let’s start at the beginning by looking at introductory paragraphs)
II. THE BODY OF THE PRESENTATION
A. Main Point 1: The introductory paragraph is particularly important because sets the
readers first impressions and expectations for the essay.
i. The first part of an introductory paragraph is the opening statement or leadin statement.
1. This sentence should entice the reader to continuing reading.
2. After the opening statement, the writer then needs to narrow the
topic.
a. This can be achieved by articulating the background or
context for the essay, or an explanation of the main concepts
or terms.
b. Additionally, if there is a problem or issue that is the focus of
the essay, then it should be introduced here.
T
CRICOS Provider Code: 02219C | BUSN20017ǀ Sentence Level Speaking Outline |
School of Business and Law | | Page 2 |
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ii. The second part of an introductory paragraph relates to importance or
significance of the topic of the essay.
1. Topic can be important in terms of the how the information can
improve or enhance a practice or activity
2. The topic can also be important or significant in terms of developing
or extending an existing body of knowledge.
iii. The third part of an essay is the preview.
1. The preview alerts the reader to the ‘schedule’ of information.
a. Most previews are chronological in that it follows a logic
temporal series or sequence of information.
i. The first issue addressed is. . . . ii.
The second issue addressed is . . . .
iii. The third issue addressed is . . .
iv. Fourth, you may wish to include a transitional sentence.
1. A transitional sentence provides ‘sign-post’ of where the essay is
heading next.
(Transition: Now that you know how to write an introductory paragraph, let’s have a look at how to
write a well-structured body paragraph)
B. Main Point 2: In between the introduction and the conclusion are the body
paragraphs, and the body paragraphs are designed to advance or explain your thesis
statement.
i. The first part of a body paragraph is the topic sentence.
1. The topic sentence is a declarative sentence that identifies the subject
to be discussed within the paragraph.
2. Sometimes it is tempting to use a question or interrogative statement
as a topic statement. Do not do this, while questions have a role
within writing they should not be used as a topic sentence within
academic essays.
a. What you include in your body paragraphs is dependent upon
the topic sentence and how the individual paragraph function
in the logical flow of information within the larger frame of
the essay.
b. The problem
c. The causes of the problem
d. The implication of the problem today
e. The implications of the problem in the future
ii. Most, if not all your body paragraphs, will contain evidentiary information.
This is to say the information provided in the body paragraph serves as
evidence that supports or explains your topic sentence.
1. Evidence within academic essay may be definitions, quotations,
examples, and/or statistics.
a. Definitions supply clarification about the meaning of terms or
ideas.
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i. Remember your definitions should come from
credible sources.
1. According to Cenere, Gill, Lawson, and
Lewis, M. (2015, pg. 38). “organisational
communication is the tool used within
organisations to transmit information”.
a. These authors are communication scholars, so
they should know what they are talking about in
this regard.
b. Quotations are words or text repeated or
represented in or by a source other than the
original author or speaker.
i. “Conventionally, academic essays consist of an
introduction, a body, a conclusion and reference list
or bibliography. The introduction section of an
academic essay has been described as troublesome
because it must perform multiple functions or
rhetorical moves (Swales 1990). For instance, a good
introduction must clearly identify the substance or
content of the essay (usually called a thesis
statement) so that the reader is guided or oriented to
the subsequent essay material. At the same time, the
introduction must achieve two additional purposes; it
must entice the reader to read on (Mounsey 2002;
Xudong 2003), and, crucially, the introduction must
establish authority for the content to come (Xudong
2003). Indeed, Arrington and Rose (1987, 306) have
suggested that introductions ‘are both text about text
and text about context’ [italics in original] and
function meta-discursively to indicate what the
reader is expected to already know, what the reader
will yet discover in the essay, and the context in
which the material will be situated” ( Brown &
Marshall, 2012, p. 654). is a quotation.
c. Examples supply a written ‘picture’ of the topic of the
paragraph. They illustrate or exemplify or describe topic of
paragraph.
i. You may want to include examples from existing
academic research, theories, processes or practices.
d. Statistics are numerical facts, which can be communicated as
either tables, charts, graphs or as words and numbers.
(Transition: At the other end of an essay is the concluding paragraph, which is the next and last topic
to which we now turn)
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C. Main Point 3: The conclusion of the essay is important because it is the writer’s last
chance to prove or remind or reinforce the written message, which is carried out in
four specific ways.
i. First, the conclusion should open with a sentence or two reminding the
reader of the importance or value of the overall essay.
ii. Next, the conclusion provides a review of the main points discussed within
the essay.
iii. After the review of the main points, the conclusion should include a
restatement of the thesis
iv. Four and finally, the concluding paragraph should supply a statement that
signals to the reader that the essay has ended.
v. As a last point, there should be no new information in the conclusion of the
essay.
(Transition: So, as you can see writing well-formed paragraphs is not hard—let’s review what you
have just heard)
III. THE CONCLUSION
A. Remind the audience of the importance or value: Writing clearly structured
wellarticulated paragraphs are important because they are the building blocks of an
excellent essay.
B. Review the main points: This presentation has discussed introductory, body and
concluding essay paragraphs.
C. Restate the thesis: Effective academic essays are based upon clearly structured and
appropriately articulated paragraphs.
D. Capstone Statement: Now you know what to do—go ahead write that high distinction
quality essay.
References (You must use the APA Reference Style)
Brown, G., & Marshall, J. (2012). The impact of training students how to write introductions for
academic essays: An exploratory, longitudinal study. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher
Education, 37(6), 653-670.
Cenere, P., Gill, R., Lawson, C., & Lewis, M. (2015). Communication skills for business
professionals. Cambridge: Port Melbourne, Vic.: Cambridge University Press.