IntroductionsTaking our introductions from so-so to

splendid

Introduction paragraph

•Purpose: To get the reader’s attention, give the reason for writing, and the overview of the star ideas

Recipe for an introduction:

•Hook (aka. The Blues): Get the reader’s attention!•Background Information: Introduce your reader to the topic, explain important terms or events in history.•Thesis: Includes the topic (reason for writing) and the position (what you plan to prove or explain). This statement controls the rest of the paper.

Types of hooks

•Background Information• Facts that have to do with the topic.• You may choose to do two facts that have a similar

subject.• Example:• The Ancient Romans and Han Dynasty both had the largest

empires of the ancient civilizations.

Types of hooks

•Short Story•One to three sentences only•Example:•During Era Three cultures around the world

began to grow and develop beyond the hunting and gathering of Era Two, becoming more complex and eventually evolving into a civilization.

Types of hooks

•Description•A scene or feelingExample• Imagine a life without the modern conveniences of

today, just learning how to farm and living in a culture that was growing and changing. During Era Three, civilization changed drastically from the days of Era two, with the development of complex civilization including new technologies, ways to provide stable food supply, and more complex governments.

Background InformationYou are providing the context of the research topic, getting the reader up to

speed so they can understand your research findings.Example• The Han Dynasty was located in Eastern Asian, what is called China today. They

were to the west of the Pacific Ocean and were home to one of the largest mountain ranges, the Himalayas. They Han Dynasty was in power from 206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E. During the Han Dynasty Calligraphy, the art of fine handwriting, was an important art form used for recordkeeping. The Han Dynasty adopted the Confucian belief that emphasized self-control and virtue and thereby masked the strict policies of the government. They were known for their advanced technology such as the invention of one of the earliest know earthquake detection machines or the development of a machine that could produce silk, their number one export, quicker. The Roman Empire was located in Africa, Europe, and Asia completely surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. They began in 500 B.C.E. to 476 C.E. The Romans originally practiced a polytheistic religion, modeled after Greek Mythology. They later converted to Christianity towards the end of their Empire The Romans are known for their fantastic architecture, with many buildings such as the Colosseum that can still be seen today. The Colosseum was originally used as entertainment where Gladiators would fight to the death. They also made many advances in science, including the study of human anatomy and engineering of roads and cities

Thesis

•Topic + position•This is not your plan statement.• It tells the reader of the topic and your position on

the topic.•This goes right after your hook in the introduction,

before the plan statement.

T

Begin with special starter words:

As, After, Since, Whenever, Although, Unless, While, When, Even though, Until, Though, Wherever, As soon as

And, But, or So Thesis Sentence

• Has two independent clauses.• Must use the and, but, or, or, so to join the two fragments into one sentence. Example• Two ancient civilizations that experienced population growth were the

Romans and the Han, however Han Dynasty dealt with the challenges of population growth better.

TTopic

Position

Review

•1st Part of your Introduction = Hook•2nd Part: BG INFO•3rd Part: Thesis•Minimum of 5 sentences in an introduction.

EXPOSITORY INTRO EXAMPLEDuring Era Three civilizations around the world began to grow and

develop beyond the hunting and gathering of Era Two(HOOK). The Han Dynasty was located in Eastern Asian, what is called China today. They were to the west of the Pacific Ocean and were home to one of the largest mountain ranges, the Himalayas. They Han Dynasty was in power from 206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E. During the Han Dynasty Calligraphy, the art of fine handwriting, was an important art form used for recordkeeping. The Han Dynasty adopted the Confucian belief that emphasized self-control and virtue and thereby masked the strict policies of the government. They were known for their advanced technology such as the invention of one of the earliest know earthquake detection machines or the development of a machine that could produce silk, their number one export, quicker. The Roman Empire was located in Africa, Europe, and Asia completely surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. They began in 500 B.C.E. to 476 C.E. The Romans originally practiced a polytheistic religion, modeled after Greek Mythology. They later converted to Christianity towards the end of their Empire The Romans are known for their fantastic architecture, with many buildings such as the Colosseum that can still be seen today. The Colosseum was originally used as entertainment where Gladiators would fight to the death. They also made many advances in science, including the study of human anatomy and engineering of roads and cities (BG INFO). Two ancient civilizations that experienced population growth were the Romans and the Han, however Han Dynasty dealt with the challenges of population growth better(THESIS).