It is essential to present the subject matter of the writing in the introduction. In my introductions I try to logically display the points of argument that I will be discussing further on in the writing. I try to do this in a succinct manner so as not to make the introduction to lengthy. Upon introducing the subject matter, it is also important to have an apparent and direct thesis statement. The thesis statement should be a summary of what the subject is and what my stance on the topic is.

The conclusion is very similar to the introduction in that the whole idea of a conclusion is to summarize the entire essay in one paragraph. Here, I try to recapitulate the arguments made thus far. It is also important to try not to bring up new points of arguments in the conclusion. The conclusion should be strictly for summarizing the essay so people can get the general comprehension of the essay.

This is the introduction of a psychology paper I had to read for my psychology seminar class

Imagine it is Friday, and you have plans to meet up with a small group of friends for what would normally be an enjoyable evening. However, tonight it feels like the gathering will be more draining than pleasurable, and you would much prefer to stay in by yourself. In fact, over the last few weeks, you have been less interested in most social activities as well as most of your hobbies. It is not that you have had less time or fewer opportunities, but you were unmotivated to pursue them; and even when you did, you ended up feeling bored and checking your watch the whole time. Distressed by this, you might wonder whether there was a name for what you were feeling, at which point you would likely discover that you were experiencing what clinical psychologists and psychiatrists call anhedonia, which is a common symptom in patients with major depression or schizophrenia

Here the introduction lacks the formal tone one would expect from an academic paper. However starting off the paper with an anecdote that many people can relate to immediately seizes the attention of many readers. In that sense this is a rather successful introduction as it captivates the mind of the audience.

As for the conclusion…

In sum, we have articulated the potential value of translational neuroscience in providing diagnostic clarity to the study of reward-related symptoms in psychopathology. Given recent advances in basic science and translational validation, we are now poised to leverage these approaches to better understand and even potentially reclassify these symptoms in terms of biologically derived constructs and measures.

The conclusion here summarizes the points mentioned in the paper in a very succinct manner. Despite lacking the minute details, the conclusion is still effective in recapitulating the focal arguments of the paper so that even those who haven’t read the paper with care can still understand the general arguments made.