How to Get Started

How to Get StartedWriting the Introduction1. SelectingBegin with a straight-forward statement about the subject area and then give brief, specific examples within that subject area. Offer a selection to the audience. The final example becomes the thesis of the paper. Example: Each generation of rock n roll fans has its favorite groups and performers. People who grew up in the fifties usually believe that Elvis truly was The King. Fans of sixties rock point to the unparalleled musical versatility and political consciousness of The Beatles. In the seventies, Bruce Springsteen became The Boss, a title many of his fans feel he still holds. Michael Jackson, though a pop star since childhood, achieved legendary status in the eighties, and Prince emerged as another rock giant. Rock music certainly has produced some talented groups and performers, but of all of these, The Rolling Stones truly deserve their self-proclaimed title- Worlds Greatest Rock n Roll Band.

As you can see, the opening sentence introduces the subject of the essay as rock performers and limits the subject to a topic on peoples attitudes toward them. The writer then gives brief examples of great rock performers from each decade before introducing his thesis on The Stones. Note the transitional word but. It is used to contrast the thesis to the introductory examples; that is, it selects The Stones from a group of performers and limits the paper to them.

32. NarratingTo narrate to tell a brief story about yourself or someone you know.Add specific details and dialogue to draw reader into the moment.Details=imagery = sensory detailsShow the audience, dont tell the audience!Example:As a twenty-seven-year-old attorney working in the prosecutors office, Andrea LeBeau was an intelligent woman with a successful future ahead of her. One night last December, Andrea tried to beat a red light in the new 280Z she had purchased after a year on the job. Unfortunately, Andreas daring was the result of a few drinks at a friends Christmas party. She broadsided another car, suffering fatal injuries and leaving the other driver laid up in the hospital for months with a broken leg and pelvis. One would think an intelligent young attorney would know better. Drunk driving affects people of all ages and classes.

This introduction leads to the thesis by using the story of someone most people would not expect to drink and drive. Narrating can be an effective way to begin because it personalizes and impersonal topic by providing the story of an individual rather than a faceless group.

53. DescribingOffer detailed description of a person, place, thing or idea.Provide specific details in order to create image in mind of reader.Do not allow audience to draw own conclusion or picture.Example - Person:Andrea LeBeau was a young woman who, as the television commercial clich goes, had it all. She was tall, with lush brown hair, beautiful dark eyes, and a figure that evidenced her daily workouts and prowess on the tennis courts. As intelligent as she was beautiful, Andrea had graduated in the top ten percent of her law school class and was rising rapidly in the prosecutors office. For all her attributes, Andrea treated everyone with respect and good cheer. At twenty-seven, Andrea is dead, the victim of her own drunk driving. Drunk driving is a problem that includes all ages and classes of people.

Example - PlaceFrom the parking lot, I could see the towers of the castle of the Magic Kingdom standing stately against the blue sky. To the right, the tall peak of The Matterhorn rose even higher. From the left, I could hear the jungle sounds of Adventureland. As I entered the gate, Main Street stretched before me with its quaint shops evoking an old-fashioned small town so charming it could never have existed. I was entranced. Disneyland may have been built for children, but it brings out the child in adults.

Example - ThingLoops of steel hurdle fifteen stories in the air like the tentacles of some technological monster. Long spines of track zigzag from one loop to the next. Its the Vortex, Kings Islands largest roller coaster, and riding it is one of lifes most exciting two minutes.

Example Final NotesIn each introduction, the specific details bring the topic to life and set up the thesis. Note that the first example, on the young attorney, sets up the same thesis as we used with narration. In other words, different kinds of strategies can be used no matter what your thesis.

A descriptive introduction can work with a serious topic, such as the one in the first example, or with an informal topic, such as a narrative on visiting Disneyland or riding a roller coaster. But whatever the topic, you need vivid details to get the readers attention.

4. Asking ?sRaising a question or a series of questions is often a good way to begin an essay. Questions appeal to the natural curiosity of people, so they can grab the readers attention and introduce the topic. They must be thought-provoking and interesting questions.

Example Single ?:How would you like to earn millions of dollars a year and pay no taxes? Each year, we read stories in the press of millionaires who have so many tax deductions that they end up with an income tax of zero--a great deal, if you can get it. But most likely you cannot. John Q. Worker, if he is lucky enough to be making $500 a week, will be even luckier to see $400 of that in his paycheck. Designed for the wealthy few, the tax laws in America are badly in need of reform.

Example Series of ?s :Do you want to live in the country? Do you want to wake up in the morning to the fresh air and sound of birds? Sound great? Do you want to drink well water that tastes like the pipes that carry it to your home? Do you want to drive ten miles to the nearest store for a bag of potato chips? Do you want to haul your weekly garbage another ten miles to the nearest dump? If you still want to live in the country, then you will have to find out for yourself that country living is not as pleasant as most people think.

More about ?sBeginning with questions is fairly easy, so dont overuse the strategy. Theres nothing wrong with it, but some students fall back on it too often and do not get practice in the other strategies. As you develop as a writer, you should learn to use all the strategies--and even come up with some new ones of your own. Nevertheless, questions are an old standby for beginning an essay.

5. Surprise and ShockGet the readers attention quickly with the opening statement. Something mildly surprising to downright shocking. Why? Because readers immediately want to hear more.

Example Surprising Statement:A computer is a dumb machine! Although we may marvel at the speed and efficiency with which computer process information and perform calculations, the computer is a slave, capable of doing only what its human operator tells it to. Computers may run amazing programs, but without the human programmer the computer can do nothing. They may process beautiful words, but the beauty comes from the writers talent. These are just a couple of examples of how the computer has been overestimated in recent years.

Example Shocking Statement:Hitler was a hero. Maybe not to people today, but in the 1930s, for many unwitting Germans, he was the man who was leading Germany back to prosperity an greatness. Of course, these Germans later found out their leader was a monster. We always hear how societies need heroes, but when taken too far, hero worship destroys both hero and followers. 6. Quoting

If you are familiar with a quotation from afamous person of history or a present-day celebrity, quoting this person can help move the reader into your essay.

Even if the quote is not widely known, it can still add authority to your introduction use someone relevant in the field!

Quotes from authorities on your topic--scientists, psychologists, business leaders, etc.--even if they are not famous, will help validate your thesis and pique the readers interest.

Example - QuotingExample:God is dead, wrote philosopher Frederick Nietzsche in the late nineteenth century.Nietzsche, now himself dead, was responding to the many scientific discoveries that hadbegun to challenge the teachings of the Bible and other holy books.

While science has often challenged religion, unless it can explain the secrets of humanitys relation to the universe, people will always have a need for religion.

When you use a quotation, be sure that it fits your thesis. In the introduction above, the quotation is used as a contrast. Thats fine.Other times, your thesis might agree with the quotation. for example, if you were arguing that people should contribute more time to volunteer service, you could set up this thesis using the Kennedy quotation mentioned above.

7. Referring to Something You've ReadAs a college student, you have been doing a lot of reading. Often your reading can help you to begin an essay of your own. For example, in the following paragraph, the writer refers to a book by Truman Capote to set up a thesis on capital punishment.Example-Something Youve ReadIn his book In Cold Blood, Truman Capote tells the story of the brutal murder of a Kansas family in their own home by two ex-convict drifters. Although the book enables us to reach some understanding of the killers and to see them as humans, the description of the murders prevents us from wanting anything less than the death penalty for them. Though even murderers are human, the loss of life suffered by the victims makes capital punishment just punishment.

Something youve readReferring to something youve read can be an effective introductory strategy.By considering your thesis in terns of something you have read, you can see your own ideas more clearly. Also, your readers will begin with the impression that you have some authority on the topic because you have read about it. In other words, your reading will support your personal opinions.

Final Tips about the IntroParagraph should be approximately 7 complete, well-written sentences.Thesis statement should inform the reader of the direction of the essay.Thesis statement is placed at the end of the introduction paragraph.Indent the first line of each paragraph (tab button).Use proper MLA heading (see TeacherWeb for format instructions).