Exam Introductions
An exam introduction consists of two parts, which ideally are expressed in just two sentences.
1. A definition(s) of the key concept(s)
Definitions show that the student can identify key concepts, and that the student knows exactly what they are.
2. A thesis statement (One sentence gives an overall answer and outlines the main points of the answer)
A thesis statement shows that the student can succinctly express the overall significance of the question and analyse the answer into main points. It does this in a way that signals the structure of the essay, and thus makes the essay very easy to read.
Examples
The introductions below come from answers to the question:
"Compare the peasant system of agriculture with the plantation system."
Evaluate how the introductions fulfil the 2 criteria above, then click the letters to check your evaluations.
The peasant system is characterized by small farms mainly based on family labor whereas plantations are large estates engaged in commercial scale production employing hired wage labor under the supervision of central management. Empirical evidence shows that small peasants in developing countries are superior to plantations in labour productivity, crop management and environmental preservation.
The plantation system is a commercial mass production system of the agricultural products such as sugar and rubber. Under the colonialism in the nineteenth century, it was developed in Asia as well as in Latin America and Africa.
Peasant farms consist of small-scale units mainly based on family labor while plantation farms are large and depend on hierarchical supervision to run the operations. Plantations may include both production and marketing processes (vertical integration). These farming systems have several differences.
Because of rapid population growth and declining resources, maximising agricultural productivity is a high priority, especially in developing countries. There are two main agricultural production systems: the small family farm system and the plantation system. The former is a small unit of production based on unpaid family labour of low employment opportunity costs and on the mechanism of self-supervision by trust and cooperation. The latter is a large unit of production for commercial crops based on hired labor and hierarchical supervision.