Open a stack of essays on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and you will see the same first sentence more than once. Something about how the author uses vivid imagery, or how the book has stood the test of time. The last paragraph usually begins with in conclusion.

Introductions and conclusions are where students lean on formulas because they are unsure what to say. The formula gets them through, but it also hides their best thinking. Good feedback can help students write openings and endings that actually do work.

These sections also deserve less of your time than body paragraphs, which is why a few well-aimed comments matter more than a lot of small ones.

Here is a quick guide to the common problems and how to address them.

The introduction problems you will see most

The most frequent is the broad opener, a sweeping statement about literature or life that could begin any essay. Another is the plot summary opener, which spends the first paragraph retelling the book. A third is the roadmap, where the student announces what each paragraph will cover instead of making a point.

• Broad opener: ask the student to begin with something specific to this book
• Plot summary opener: ask which single detail sets up the argument
• Roadmap opener: ask what the essay is trying to prove, not what it will cover
• Missing thesis: ask the student to underline the claim and check that it is arguable
• Strong opener: name what works and encourage the student to keep that level of specificity

The conclusion problems worth flagging

Most conclusions repeat the introduction in slightly different words. Others introduce a new argument at the last minute, or end with a sweeping claim about humanity. What students rarely do is say what the argument means, and that is the part that makes a conclusion worth reading.

A useful comment is: You have shown that the tree matters to Francie. What does that tell us about the book as a whole? It asks for an idea, not a summary.

Teach students to revise these sections last

Many students write the introduction first and never change it. Encourage them to revisit it after the body paragraphs are done, since the essay often turns out to argue something slightly different from what they planned. A short revision task on the introduction alone is fast to grade and teaches a lot.

You can do the same with conclusions. Ask students to rewrite theirs so that it makes a point the body paragraphs did not already state.

Keeping these comments quick

Because these problems are so predictable, they are an easy target for a comment bank. GraideMind can identify which type of introduction or conclusion an essay has and draft a matching comment, which you can adjust in a few seconds.

That leaves more of your time for the middle of the essay, where the real analysis happens and where detailed feedback makes the biggest difference.