Ways of Starting an Essay Eight ways to draw the reader in with your introduction (taken from Patterns for College Writers pgs. 39-40)

I. Background info Start right in on the topic and move to your thesis Good when you know the reader is already hooked Good for exams, where subtlety is unnecessary “Gun ownership has gone up 14% in recent years, as have incidents of gun violence. Congress let the assault weapons ban lapse in 2004, making it again possible for ordinary citizens to own these particular weapons.”

II. Definition Useful for research papers or exams, where the meaning of a specific term is critical “According to Webster’s…” is trite and overused “In most discussions of weapons, an assault weapon is defined as a semi-automatic firearm possessing certain features similar to those of military firearms.”

III. Anecdote or Story Make sure it ties in to the topic of the essay “In 2006, Joanne Smith came home from her night job as a suicide hotline counselor to find an assailant waiting for her in her apartment. Fortunately, she had applied for a concealed weapons permit, and so she was armed and ready to protect herself. As soon as the burglar saw the .44 in her hand, he ran out the front door.”

IV. A Question A bit overused, but it can be effective. Let it be one of your choices, but not your only one. “Does a deer hunter really need to be able to discharge 37 bullets in 5 seconds?”

V. A Quotation If it arouses interest, it can encourage the audience to read further Make sure it applies to the essay Clint Eastwood once said, “I have a very strict gun control policy: if there’s a gun around, I want to be in control of it.”

VI. Surprising Statement Can really draw the reader in Believe it or not, in a recent poll, almost as many people said that they own a gun for target practice as those who said they own one for protection.

VII. A Contradiction Say what most people believe is true and then show how it is inaccurate or ill-advised Most people believe that banning guns will lead to less crime. Unfortunately, the facts don’t agree. When handguns were banned in England, the crime rate went up 52%. In Washington DC, the rate jumped 73%.

VIII. A Fact or Statistic Be sure to show the reader how this is important and applies to your topic. “A 1997 U.S. Justice Department survey of 14,285 state prison inmates found that among those inmates who carried a firearm during the offense for which they were sent to jail, 0.7% obtained the firearm at a gun show, 1% at a flea market, 3.8% from a pawn shop, 8.3% from a retail store, 39.2% through an illegal/street source, and 39.6% through family or friend.”

Be sure that your intro matches the rest of your paper in tone and level of formality A big difference in tone or register (level of formality) can lower your credibility (ethos) Write your intro last so that you know how it should feel

“Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” --Horace Consider this quotation about adversity from the Roman poet Horace. Then write an essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies Horace’s assertion about the role that adversity (financial or political hardship, danger, misfortune, etc.) plays in developing a person’s character. Support your argument with appropriate evidence from your reading, observation, or experience.