The Beginning and the End

I was always told in elementary school all through high school that the beginning paragraph of a paper is the most important. If you didn't catch the reader's attention within the first few sentences, then it is likely that he or she will not read your paper. Once again, that concept is put into my mind. In the readings for chapter 28, it states that the beginning and the end are the most important parts of a paper. We want to be able to catch the reader's attention, and then leave them satisfied at the end. All their questions are answered, and they have a better understanding of whatever it was that he or she read. I always begin my papers with a question, some sort of backgroung information about my topic, or an interesting fact. My thesis statement is always the last sentence of the first paragraph. It's a good location to start the argument of my paper. A good ending is important also. The book states that "they're the last words readers read." I think that means that whatever the ending words are, the reader will remember those the most. I was always taught that the first sentence of my last paragraph should be a restatement of my thesis. It's just like a cross country race, you have to finish strong. To give an idea of what the reader will be reading, it's good to point out little hints. And when I say hints, I'm talking about a good title, thesis statement, and topic sentences. Once again, in high school, I was taught that every first sentence of a paragraph should be an overview of what the paragraph is going to be about.