Transcript Introductory Paragraphs

Introductory Paragraphs




Clearly state the point of your paper, i.e,
thesis statement.
Avoid grandiose claims that cannot be
substantiated.
Only include information that is necessary
to the point at hand.
Provide some contextual information.
Example
A “good man cannot be harmed in life or in
death” (41d). Socrates states this after being
sentenced to death at his trial in the dialogue of
Plato’s Apology. In the Apology, Socrates was
accused of corrupting the youth and creating new
gods. After the Athenian jury found him guilty of
these charges, Socrates responded with an
argument of how he would not be harmed by this
significant decision. Within this analysis we will
discuss what a good man is, why Socrates stated
this, what he meant, and why we believe he is
right.
Through the course of human history, only a
handful of individuals dedicated themselves to
living the life of truth, justice, and moral
goodness. The likes of MLK Jr., Mother Thersea,
and Mahatma Gandhi have struggled against the
unconquerable will of the masses and the
overwhelming forces of politics to combat that
which they believed to be unjust. By failing to
compromise their beliefs, they’ve risen amongst a
sea of adversities to reach a level of morality and
righteousness. Plato’s Euthyphro, Apology,
Crito, and Meno relates the life of Socrates, a
well-known philosopher who lived in Athens . . .
… over two thousand years ago. Through a rigorous
life of questioning the ultimate issues of life, he
has succeeded in branding his name in the annals
of great thinkers. Yet, by the same token, he
suffered profound discrimination from the masses
and government officials by practicing his beliefs.
They believed that his teachings promoted a
corruption of the city’s youth, and the creation of
false gods. His life ended in prosecution and
execution. He once said, “a good man cannot be
harmed in life or in death.” This quote
exemplifies his ultimate belief that by living the
good life, he will have fulfilled the desires of his
heart and conscience. As a group we feel that
Socrates lived a life that we truly good.
Quotation Usage



Use quotations only to support or explain
important points of the paper.
Make sure the quotation is genuinely
supporting or explaining the point you are
trying to make.
Read the sentences just prior to (and just
after) the quote in isolation and ask
whether the quotation works.
Examples
. . . Socrates further illustrates how a good man
cannot be harmed in life when he explains to the
jury why he cannot be hurt by their sentence.
Socrates says, “I do not think it is permitted that a
better man be harmed by a worse; certainly he
might kill me, or perhaps banish me or
disfranchise me, which he and others think to be a
great harm but I do not think so.” He believes, in
other words, that a good man cannot be harmed in
ways that matter to his soul.
The body is the place in which our soul
dwells. They are fused together only in the
physical world to keep us constantly
yearning to obtain the Ultimate Truth. The
body and the soul are separate and to harm
one is not directly harming the other.
“Only the body and its desires cause civil
war, civil discord, and battles, for all wars
are due to the desire to acquire wealth, and
it is the body and care of it, to which we
are enslaved.”
Embed the Quote



Socrates says that a “good man cannot be
harmed in life or in death.”
A “good man,” Socrates says, “cannot be
harmed in life or in death.”
Socrates spoke at his trial of being a good
man. “A good man cannot be harmed in
life or in death.”