Thursday, October 14, 2004
Something I learned today
It's much easier to write the conclusion to a book-length work than it is to write the introduction. Maybe everyone else knew that, but I hadn't realized.
The conclusion has the great advantage of coming last. Everything else you wanted to say is already out there to be referred to. If the reader has been paying any attention, he will have some idea what you are trying to say (more than he will in the intro). You can be brief and witty and have fun, because the reader is probably already getting bored with your stuff, and showing him something new, even if only half-baked, might work better than a rehash.
The introduction, on the other hand, has every disadvantage. It needs to make your argument before you've set up the framework and evidence that supports it. You must persuade your reader that what you are saying matters to them by tying it to other things people care about. You must be intriguing, and very tight in your prose. You have to assume that many readers will never get past the intro, so this is your only chance to tell them anything. A much trickier job...
The conclusion has the great advantage of coming last. Everything else you wanted to say is already out there to be referred to. If the reader has been paying any attention, he will have some idea what you are trying to say (more than he will in the intro). You can be brief and witty and have fun, because the reader is probably already getting bored with your stuff, and showing him something new, even if only half-baked, might work better than a rehash.
The introduction, on the other hand, has every disadvantage. It needs to make your argument before you've set up the framework and evidence that supports it. You must persuade your reader that what you are saying matters to them by tying it to other things people care about. You must be intriguing, and very tight in your prose. You have to assume that many readers will never get past the intro, so this is your only chance to tell them anything. A much trickier job...
