TYPICAL INTRODUCTION FORMAT
Lead-In
Personal Motivation
Anecdote, Extended Example(s)
Interesting Facts, Leading Questions
Focus/Thesis
Scope (Topics to Be Covered)/Strategy/Methodology
SAMPLE INTRODUCTIONS
I.
The Effects of Global Overpopulation
Nearly ten years ago, I became the very proud parent of a beautiful baby
girl. With this event came the realization that I no longer belonged only to
myself, that I was now responsible for another human being. She was the best
thing that had ever happened to me. It gave me a real sense of purpose knowing
that no matter what I did with my life I would always have her to care for.
When my daughter was still an infant, I thought I would like to have several
more children. A friend asked me once how many I would like to have. "Oh,
about four or five," I answered. At the time this seemed totally
reasonable to me, and I didn't see any reason why I shouldn't have that many
children, even though I was not wealthy or highly skilled.
Over the years my ideas about having a large family have changed somewhat.
Luckily, even though I very easily could have, I did not get pregnant within
the first few years following my daughter's birth. This gave me some time to
experience parenting with one child which, in turn, made me rethink my position
on having more children. It was also during this time, mostly due to my concern
for my daughter, that I became interested in environmental issues. As all
parents do, I would think about my daughter's future and wonder what kind of a
world she would grow up into. I began to realize that with all of the
environmental damage being done to the planet, there might not be much of a
world left for my daughter's generation, and for their children, the prospects
seem even worse. My interest in the environment led me to a curiosity of some
of the causes of environmental degradation, the most prevalent one being the
rapid population growth of humans.
Many of the world's leading biologists and environmentalists contend that of
all the other problems in the world, overpopulation is
perhaps the most urgent our world now faces. It is the central issue in terms
of the environment. The negative effects of overpopulation's role in
socio-economic and health issues are being felt by people in countries all over
the world. Its consequences, as bad as they are in many places right now, are
threatening to become drastically worse in the coming decades.
In this paper I will explore how overpopulation in affecting our planet. I
will look at environmental and social issues in various countries around the
world. I will investigate the strategies used by both successful and
unsuccessful family planning programs and how these programs reach out to
people to deliver reproductive health care and services to families in developing
countries. I will look at the position of religious and pro-life groups which
have opposed the international involvement of the
II
THE MANY FACES OF EVE: REFLECTIONS ON
POLYGAMY IN
The subject of male/female relationships fascinates much of Western society.
Television shows are filled with sexual innuendo. Daytime soaps, talk shows,
night time serials, and even especially made for television movies all focus in
on the who, what, where, when (through rarely why) of sexual activity. Even
commercials use sex to sell everything from shampoo to cars. Newspapers herald
the sexual dalliances of public figures as diverse as presidential candidates,
political hopefuls, sports celebrities, actors, and even evangelists, feeding
the western preoccupation with anything sexual in nature.
It is no wonder, then, that polygamy, a form of
marriage in which a man has multiple wives, elicits both curiosity and disdain.
Depending upon our sex (male or female) and our own personal morality, we may
have visions of ourselves with multiple partners involved in nights of pleasure
and sexual abandon. (Clignet 3) Or perhaps our
thoughts turn to how dark and oppressive polygamy must be, forcing women to
become nothing but sexual slaves to a tyrannical male bent on satisfying his
own lust. This stereotypical view relegates polygamy to the cultural status of
"primitive," so smug are we in the correctness of our Western
attitude towards polygamy. (3)
As I began my research of polygamy in
This paper presents research findings on the practice of polygamy in
It should be noted that the practice of polygamy in
III.
IMPORTANCE OF AFRICAN ELEPHANTS
I've been an admirer of African elephants since childhood, although the
expression of my admiration was once far less enlightened than today. I first
encountered elephants the way that most Americans do--through circuses, zoos
and Disney movies. I recall feeling intrigued by the gentle, cautious nature
exhibited by these massive animals. Their agile movements and the manner in
which they balance immense power with restraint inspired awe. As a child I
proudly displayed my collection of elephant figurines purchased form import
stores--some of my favorites were carved entirely of ivory or adorned with
ivory inlays. I grew up enjoying nature specials which depicted herds of
elephants roaming freely across the great expanses of the African contiinentand never undersood how
uncommon such freedom had become.
Despite my life long admiration for elephants I rarely questioned the naïve and
illusory caricatures from which I formed many of my impressions. I knew that
elephants naturally resided in wide open spaces but believed that somehow they
were satisfied living in the confines of zoos or circuses--I had no trouble
with this contradiction. I also embraced the belief that the ivory trade was
relatively benign because endless elephant herds lived unconstrained throughout
For many years, Western knowledge of elephants has been limited to
fictitious images that obscure the real issues affecting the species. The
fallacy of abundant herds was encouraged by numerous television programs and,
like many others, I preferred these happy images to
the occasional documentary which warned us of exterminations and dwindling
populations. Often these warnings were discredited as the alarmist views of a
few extreme conservationists. Eventually these documentaries became more
frequent and persuasive, and it became clear that the future of African
elephants was truly threatened. Advanced research techniques provided credible
and alarming statistics, conservation groups grew in number and power, and as
more accurate information became available an increased awareness emerged. This
burgeoning awareness gathered momentum and culminated in global pressures to
institute an ivory ban.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was
created in 1973 to impose restrictions on trade in wildlife. This is
accomplished by placing an endangered species on the Appendix I list in
recognition that trade would critically threaten its existence. Prohibition of
trade is a mechanism that serves to protect the species until an adequate
recovery in numbers has been reached. In 1989, reports on the depleted
populations of African elephants caused sufficient concern to prompt CITES to
grant the elephants Appendix I status. (Munjoma)
As African countries currently debate the prudence of this
ban on ivory, elephants and elephant products. It has become clear that
the dilemma of sustaining
Natural threats such as drought, starvation, and disease are serious issues
affecting African elephants, but these contributors are negligible compared to
human threats. This paper will explore the numerous anthropogenic issues
affecting the viability of elephant populations throughout
IV.
The Truth and Reconciliation Process
in
When I try to sleep at night, I can only dram in red. The outside world
Is black and white, with only one color: dead.
Oh, Biko, Biko.
You can blow out a candle, but your can't blow out a fire
Once the flame begins to catch, the wind will blow it higher.
Hear the mantra? Hear the manta? The man is dead; the man is dead!
And the eyes of the world are watching now--watching now.
These lyrics are from Peter Gabriel's 1980 song, "Biko."
When I first heard this work a few years ago, I was curious what it all meant.
Why was this man killed? What did he mean by images of the wind of oppression
blowing the flames of resistance higher? What did he mean by Biko's death, and how the eyes of the world are watching? I
sought out answers to my questions, which only produced more questions. In
seeking, I learned about, and gained interest in apartheid of
As I learned about what happened, I started to understand why this man, Biko, and countless others gave their lives. I tried to
imagine what it would be like to let go of a past like that and look forward to
building democracy; I couldn't. For a country in such dire turmoil, with such
deep wounds, what would it take to move out?
This research paper will explore the work of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission of South Africa (TRC). The TRC is a sort of tribunal, set up to
reconcile past differences, grant amnesty to those in need of forgiveness, and
ultimately lead the country to healing. All of these are necessary for
In this paper, it will be necessary to cover the history of appartheid. Although the oppression dates back to the
fourteenth century, I will outline the last forty years of the apartheid state,
1950-1990. I will discuss the struggle for freedom and the roles of the African
National Congress along with peripheral organizations key in the liberation of
I pursued the research for this paper in a number of areas. I sought the
internet for many sources, websites, mailing lists, and utilized Ebsocohost, a seach for magazine
and journal articles pertaining to the subect. I used
sources from local libraries, namely books on politics and South African
history. I learned much from videos, an interivew,
and listening to some songwriters sing of the
struggle. I ready speeches of legendary heroes like Oliver Tambo
and Nelson Mandela. Finally, I used the world wide web
to find different interviews with key people integral to understanding what was
going on in
My strategy for presentation of this information is a combination of a
chronological survey with an emphasis on the TRC as the focal point. My outline
follows the history of apartheid, the African National Congress, the Inkatha Freedom Party, the setup and operation fo the TRC, and going beyond and
into the future discussing this as a model for others to use.
Ultimately, I hope to show that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a
useful model for bringing about positive change. I hope to prove that the world
can benefit from digging up old wounds, as
Introduction
There is a
healthcare crisis in
Registered nurses don’t want to be teachers because they can get paid more outside the classroom. After receiving a degree and license, nurses don’t want to spend the time and money to obtain a master’s or doctoral degree. The Nurse Reinvestment Act will help nursing educators pay for these additional schooling requirements, but is it incentive enough?
As a pre-nursing student, I have encountered problems completing all of my prerequisite classes for the bachelor degree program. Classes like Anatomy & Physiology and Microbiology are immediately filled, with scheduling conflicts because there aren’t enough courses offered at my community college. I am applying for nursing programs this winter and am very hopeful that I will get in, but it is really competitive. I’ve encountered other students who have been waiting for a few years to get into a program. Why is it so difficult when we really need registered nurses?
We need more
instructors, laboratories, and placement sites.
We need the simulation mannequins to practice on that
In
this essay I will discuss the past and present facts, and what the experts say
about the future of nursing. I will
touch on the reasons that nurses and faculty have given for leaving the
profession, as well as the strides toward increasing enrollment in nursing
educator degree programs. I will talk
about the strategies of nursing leaders in
Patient care is ultimately suffering and will continue to decline if more nurses aren’t trained in a hurry. If we don’t act now, our baby boomers and expanding population will be left to “nurse” themselves.