!!!!!!!!!!!! Writing Introductions!

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1 Writing Intrductins Exercise: A great intrductin is similar t a great pening scene in a mvie. List a mvie that yu have seen and then give the reasn why that pening was s memrable. MOVIE TITLE: WHY: MOVIE TITLE: WHY:

2 Writing Intrductins 1. An intrductin r intrductry paragraph is the first paragraph in any multiparagraph essay. 2. Successful intrductins engage the reader and increase interest in the tpic. The main parts f an intrductin include the lead, the bridge, and the thesis (claim). 3. The lead shuld be abut three t five sentences. It is hw yu grab yur reader s attentin. 4. The bridge fills the gap frm the lead t the thesis (claim) and shuld be ne r tw sentences. The bridge is when yu bring up the tpic f yur essay. 5. The thesis is the last sentence in yur intrductry paragraph. It is the sentence that tells exactly what yur paper will be abut. 6. That makes yur entire paragraph abut five t eight sentences. Questins: 1. What three things are in an intrductin (in rder)?,, 2. Hw lng is yur intrductry paragraph? 3. Where des the bridge g in the first paragraph? 4. Where des the thesis (claim) g in yur first paragraph? 5. What is a lead?

3 What is a Thesis (claim) Statement? It is the stance, the pinin that yu take abut the subject f the essay. (This will usually be a ne sentence pinin that leaves the paper pen t a great deal f explanatin.) It ties yur paper tgether and gives it directin (the rad map). (This will usually be the three-part thesis.) Qualities f a gd thesis statement: A gd thesis is specific avid vague wrds. Pr Example: Playing basketball is great. Better Example: Playing basketball will imprve athletic skills. A gd thesis is nt a title Pr Example: The Decline f Detrit Ftball. Better Example: Detrit ftball has recently experienced a decline in ppularity due t perfrmance, trades, and ticket prices. A gd thesis is nt an annuncement f a subject. Pr Example: My tpic is abut the prblems I had beginning high schl. Better Example: I had varius prblems when I began high schl. A gd thesis is nt a questin. Pr Example: Why is it imprtant nt t be in ISS? Better Example: It is imprtant nt t be in ISS because a student will miss ut n imprtant educatinal pprtunities. A gd thesis is nt a statement abut abslute fact. Pr Example: Flrida is in the suthern part f the United States. Better Example: Flrida is the best spring break destinatin.

4 DON T USE THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR THESIS: In my pinin My paper is ging t be abut I think that Dn t be vague r t brad in yur claim Dn t write the title f the stry as yur thesis Dn t list facts Dn t ask questins DO THE FOLLOWING: Be specific Make a claim that yu have t supprt Make a claim that yu can make the strngest argument. (It may nt always be what yu agree with) Directins: Write a + if the statement is a gd thesis and a 0 if the statement is nt a gd thesis. 1. Senatr Debbie Stabenw wrks fr Michigan. 2. My thesis is abut hw t get gd grades. 3. The Great Debate 4. While n vacatin I experienced quite an adventure. 5. Edgar Allen Pe was brn in January Implementing schl unifrms wuld have many benefits. 7. I am against schl unifrms. 8. Students think that being cl means having t sacrifice his r her mrals, giving in t peer pressure, and ding bad in schl. 9. Cmparing and cntrasting the tw pems will illustrate why If by Kipling is the best pem.

5 Read the fllwing essay prmpt and write a thesis statement fr it: Many cmmunities are cnsidering adpting curfews fr high schl students. Sme educatrs and parents favr curfews because they believe it will encurage students t fcus mre n their hmewrk and make them mre respnsible. Others feel curfews are up t families, nt the cmmunity, and that students tday need freedm t wrk and participate in scial activities in rder t mature prperly. D yu think that cmmunities shuld impse curfews n high schl students? Building Bridges A bridge is ne r tw sentences that cnnect yur lead t yur thesis (claim). A bridge will cntain limiting infrmatin that specifically ties t the purpse f yur essay. Fr example, it might state the names f peple yu are cmparing, the issue yu are researching, r the tpic yu will pursue. Althugh a bridge limits infrmatin frm yur lead, it des nt limit as much as yur single-sentence thesis (claim). Remember, THE BRIDGE IS NOT THE THESIS. The bridge is just as it sunds: a cnnectr frm ne place t anther. As yu learn abut different types f leads yu will be expected t identify the three different parts f an intrductry paragraph. Exercise: Read the fllwing sample intrductin and underline the thesis twice and circle the bridge. Remember that a bridge is where yu bring up the tpic f yur paper, but nthing specific. Example Paragraph: Circle the bridge. Underline the thesis twice. Mst peple dn t chse wh they eat dinner with every night. It is usually whmever a persn lives with, r is arund as dinnertime. There are many fascinating peple t spend time with while eating dinner. If I were able t chse any three peple, dead r alive t eat with, it wuld take me a while t decide. After great cnsideratin I wuld invite Oprah, my grandma, and President Lincln.

6 FUNNEL LEAD LEADS This type f lead is a brad-t-specific apprach (think upside-dwn triangle). Begin with a brad general statement f yur tpic (yu will end up narrwing it dwn t yur thesis statement). Funnels ease the reader int the tpic by prviding a backgrund. Essay Prmpt: The schl district is trying t figure ut what prblems affect teenagers success in schl the mst. Teenagers are faced with decisins everyday that impact their success. In an essay, t be read by parents and staff in the schl district, write an essay that shws what effects student perfrmance the mst. Example Intrductin: The life f a teenager in mdern America is nt always pleasant. He r she is faced with a multitude f cnflicts and prblems, many f which seem almst impssible t vercme. Mst f these prblems center arund schl, which is nt surprising cnsidering that the teenager devtes an average f eight hurs a day t schl and schl-related activities. Since schl is nt an ptin, teenagers need t be mre aware. Primary prblems created by schl are the intense pressure fr gd grades, and the even mre intense pressure f peers. List the tpics as they narrw dwn frm sentence t sentence: (bridge) 5. Circle five effective wrds in the sample paragraph 6. Underline the thesis twice 7. Put a bx arund the entire lead

7 Write a Funnel Lead Nw it is yur turn t write a funnel lead. Yu will use the fllwing essay prmpt t guide yu. Essay Prmpt: The schl bard is cnsidering implementing a lnger schl day. Sme teachers are against it because it will affect sprt practices. Other teachers are fr it because students need t be better prepared fr high educatin after high schl and a lnger schl day means mre time t learn fr the students. In an essay, t be read by the schl bard, write why the schl day shuld r shuld nt be lnger. HINT: Befre yu begin, think abut the upside-dwn triangle. Yu will begin with a brader tpic and narrw it dwn t yur thesis. If yu write yur thesis first then yu will knw where yu are ging with yur intrductin. Brainstrm Tpic: (bridge) 5. (thesis) Example Beginning (DO NOT COPY): Students g t schl five days a week. They attend at least six classes everyday. They are expected t knw Yur intrductry paragraph ges n the lines belw:

8 DESCRIPTIVE LEAD Relies mstly n the senses and creates a picture fr the reader. In rder fr descriptive writing t be effective, subtle transitins are necessary. Fr example, key wrds culd be used at the end f the descriptin t tie the descriptive meaning t the tpic. Example Paragraph: On a cld Octber day, an explsin is heard. It eches n and n as if it were beckning fr help. Then, suddenly, all is still; and the earth shudders in an interminable silence f ttal decimatin as the nuclear blast is finished. Nuclear bliteratin, like what we have just imagined, stands next t us at every plitical turning pint unless wrld slutins are reached. In rder fr the threat f nuclear war t be lessned, we must cease nuclear testing and find a realistic way t plice arms agreement. 1. Underline the thesis twice 2. What d yu think this paper will be abut? 3. Circle five effective wrds used in this sentence that helped the reader picture the scene. 4. Put a bx arund the descriptive lead. Hw many sentences was the lead? 5. Write the bridge dwn n the lines belw: 6. What is a bridge, as it pertains t the intrductry paragraph?

9 Write a Descriptive Lead (9 th ) Nw it is yur turn t write a descriptive lead. Use the essay prmpt t guide yu. Remember that yur lead des nt need t be mre than three t five sentences. Essay Prmpt: If yu culd g n vacatin anywhere in the wrld, where wuld yu g and why? Brainstrm: Yur intrductry paragraph ges n the lines belw:

10 ANECDOTE Use an incident r a brief stry that is related t the tpic. Stries are naturally interesting and appeal t the reader s curisity. Types f anecdtes include smething that happened t the writer r smething that the writer bserved, smething the writer heard abut, r smething that the writer read. Example Essay: The peple are swarming abut and my thughts get fuzzy as I run next t the gurney int the perating rm. There is nise and cnfusin as I try t revive the victim f the drunk-driving accident. His left lung is punctured, he is bleeding prfusely, many bnes are brken, and I dn t knw if he will ever walk again. Even thrugh all f the pressure that can be imagined in this situatin I still want t be a surgen. If I culd have any jb in the wrld and be great at what I d I wuld want t be a surgen s I can save lives, psitively affect the wrld, and be prud f my jb. 1. Hw many sentences was the lead? 2. Put a bx arund the lead. 3. Underline the thesis twice. 4. Label the bridge. Example Essay: Jey was driving hme after a schl dance ne Friday night. As usual he was driving fast and his Frd began t skid. He frantically turned the steering wheel, but the car went ut f cntrl and crssed the center line. It tragically slammed int an ncming truck, and bth drivers were killed. One result f terrible accidents like this is a public demand that high schl students be required t take a lnger driver s training curse. Mst high schls ffer curses, but the curses are nt rigrus enugh, r hld accuntability t lgged hurs by each teenager. Therefre, all high schl districts shuld require that student attend driver s training lnger in rder t strengthen the teenagers ability t drive. 1. Hw many sentences was the lead? 2. Put a bx arund the lead. 3. Underline the thesis twice. 4. Label the bridge

11 Exercise: Nw it is yur turn t write an intrductry paragraph using an anecdte lead. Essay prmpt: If yu culd have any jb in the wrld and be great at it, what wuld yu chse and why? Brainstrm: Yur intrductry paragraph ges n the lines belw: