Writing an Introduction

What should an introduction do?

“…attract the reader's attention”

“…tell the reader explicitly what the thesis (the point of the paper) is”

“…establish the significance of your point to the reader”

The first sentence of your introduction is known as the hook or the global statement.

The purpose of this statement is to grab the attention of your reader.

You start the introduction off broad and then narrow in with a specific topic in your last sentence (called your thesis).

Attracting the Attention of the Reader

Statement

Global

Attracting the Attention of the Reader

Provide one of the following as an opening sentence to you paragraph. This will help get the attention of your audience.Intriguing quoteInteresting FactAnecdote Broad statement that connects to your topic and will move toward being more specific throughout the paragraphAsk a question

Intriguing QuoteThe quote should really stand out to your audience and connect to your topic. Usually pop culture quotes are great.

A paper on heroes = “I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.”Bob Dylan

YOU TRY…

One day I will be a hero!

An Interesting FactResearch some information and find a fact that would really stand out to the reader. Facts pretty much explain the importance of your paper if the one used is strong enough.

An interesting fact for a paper on preventing high school dropouts“Each year, approximately 1.3 million students fail to graduate from high school” (Fact Sheet).

YOU TRY…

Anecdote

A brief story about your topic that will get the attention of your reader. Many times the story will be mentioned again in the conclusion to bring the essay full circle.

Paper on high school start timesCock-a-doodle-doo. The annoying sound of Sarah’s alarm clock wakes her up for the fifth time this week. She sleepily turns off the alarm clock at 5:30 a.m. as she drags her feet out of bed. Sarah begins her daily routine by first drinking a large cup of coffee. She is exhausted from sports, homework, family responsibilities, trying to maintain a somewhat of social life, and waking up every morning three hours before the body of a teenager is ready to start his/her day.

YOU TRY Just begin with a story!

Broad Statement

The broad statement needs to connect to your topic and move your introduction toward being more specific throughout the paragraph

For example if your paper was about Michael Phelps your opening sentence might be about the Olympic Games in general.

The Olympic Games have been the most competitive and world watched event since 1859.

YOU TRY…

Broad

Specific

Ask a question that will spark your readers interest. The question must be one that will eventually be answered in your paper.

For example if your paper was about a Greek god or goddess such as Athena you might ask this question:Have you ever wondered how the Greek Goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill came into existence?

YOU TRY…

Ask a Question

Background Information

After the hook/global statement you need to provide some background information on your topic.

Tell your reader a little about your topic. For example if you were writing an essay

persuading people that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were better than ham and cheese sandwiches you might include information about what is found in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Read the example in the next slide.

Background information

Hook -- Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are eaten more than any other sandwich in the United States.

Background information-- A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is made using two pieces of bread, peanut butter, and jelly. The peanut butter and jelly are sold in different varieties offering many combinations of the sandwich.

Then you would continue with a thesis

Broad Specific

The introduction so far started off broad and then become more specific as you provided background information. The last step is creating a thesis.

A thesis is…› The most specific part of the

introduction› The last sentence in the introduction› A roadmap for the reader – letting the

reader know exactly what your paper will be about and where it is headed.

Thesis Statement

There are different styles of thesis statements.

You will begin with a three-point thesis for this paper, but by the end of the year you will be expected to create a thesis that is not divided into three parts, but sets the essay up for analysis.

A three point thesis lists three areas you will discuss in your paper.

Three Point Thesis On topic with the peanut butter

and jelly paragraph we started we will create a thesis.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiched are the eaten more in America than any other sandwich because they are easy to make, healthy, and provided a variety.

See the three different points of the paper? › Easy to make› Healthy› Variety

Three Point thesis

Now your paper will be divided into those three parts and must defend the claims you made in your thesis.

The next power point will help you in writing your body paragraphs.

Let’s practice what we have learned…

You can now write an introduction

Works Cited

Adrian Van Leen, “Perth Western Australia” June 25, 2012 via Open Photo Creative Commons, Public Domain.

“Fact Sheet.” Alliance for excellent education, September 2010. Web. 28 June 2012. <http://www.all4ed.org/files/GraduationRates_FactSheet.pdf>.

Gavin Baker, “A Monkey” June 25, 2012 via Open Photo Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike.

“Writing an Introduction.” HMC. Web. 28 June 2012. <http://www2.hmc.edu/~alves/intros.html>.