Monday, March 14, 2011

THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH


Purpose of The Introductory Paragraph :
  • get the reader's attention
  • set tone for the rest of the essay
  • make a contract with the reader - what will be covered in this piece?
Parts of The Introductory :
  • The Hook - designed to grab attention immediately and give some indication about the essay's topic
  • The Transition - moves the reader from the hook to the driving force of the essay...
  • The Thesis - makes the contract with the reader about what will be discussed without a blatant announcement
Types of Hooks :
  • Personal examples
  • Quotations
  • Facts or statistics
  •  Rhetorical questions
  • Current events
  • Contrast to the thesis statement
  • Definition
USING PERSONAL EXAMPLES
  • Provides strong, dramatic incidents to use. Honesty in expressing thoughts and feelings will ring true with the reader. While you can make up the personal experience, be careful that it sounds credible
  • Personal observation - different from a personal example, an observation is something you saw happening
 USING QUOTATIONS
  • Content of quote should be : dramatic, emotionally appealing, surprising, humorous
  • Quote does not have to be from a famous person
  • Must be relevant to thesis statement
USING FACTS OR STATISTICS
  • Must be startling or unusual
  • Must be from a credible source
  • Use journal as a place to record both quotes and facts or statistics that might work for an introduction
USING RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

Example : Take a moment and think of the three women closest to you. Who comes to your mind? Your mother? Your sister? Your girlfriend? Your wife? Your best friend? Now guess which one will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime. It is not pleasant thought, but according to the Malaysian Department of Justice, one of every three Malaysian women will be sexually assaulted sometime during her life.

USING CURRENT EVENTS
  • Must be recent
  • Must be important
  • Should be made in public by newspapers, television or radio
USING CONTRAST TO THE THESIS STATEMENT
  • In direct contrast to the thesis statement
  • It is fun to prove an expert wrong

No comments:

Post a Comment