Take out a piece of paper, one in your notebook is fine Do Now: Take out a piece of paper, one in your notebook is fine

Create a bibliography card using the information below. I read a book by Tina Bluechair. Tina is 34 years old. The book is called The Little Green Table, and it was published in Green Bay, Wisconsin at Purple Pages Inc. in 2008. Tina now sells her books in White Plains, NY twice a week for two hours.

Writing Your Introduction Objective: Write an introduction with a thesis statement

Writing your introduction Your introduction should include the following items: Topic Thesis Statement

Introduction Brief summary of what your research paper is on – provides the reader with a few dynamic statistics about your wonder…these statistics should make the reader anticipate reading more!!!

The Purpose Catch the attention of your audience – make it as interesting as possible. It is very important that you do not use the word “I” in any of the paragraphs in your paper aside from those that make up your conclusion.

Thesis Statement The most important remarkable, attention grabbing sentence in the paper. The one sentence is used to introduce a topic by providing a brief, well written description of your findings. It should truly spark the reader’s attention.

What is a thesis statement? A thesis statement is one of the greatest unifying aspects of a paper. It should act as mortar, holding together the various bricks of a paper, summarizing the main point of the paper "in a nutshell." Is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. Is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your topic to the reader.

How do I get a Thesis Statement? As soon as you've got a chunk of research, a deck of index cards, or pages full of notes, take a few moments to reread your material. Think about what you might prove with all those facts. A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment.

The steps First, you have to collect and organize information, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a "working thesis," a basic or main idea that you can support with facts and information, You may need to make adjustments along the way.

When reviewing your working thesis, ask yourself the following questions:

Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not make a strong statement. If your thesis contains words like "good" or "successful," see if you could be more specific: why is something "good"; what specifically makes something "successful"?

Does my thesis pass the "So what?" test? If a reader's first response is, "So what?" then you need to clarify, or to connect to a larger issue.

Example 1st try The Great Pyramids of Giza are amazing.

Example 2nd try The Great pyramids of Giza bring many fascinating mysteries to the people of the world today.

Location The Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt bring many mysteries to the people of the world today. Topic What attracted it to me

Example 3rd try With its architectural splendor and magnificent golden tone, the Great Pyramids of Giza bring many fascinating mysteries to the people of the world today.

Example of a introductory paragraph With its architectural splendor and magnificent golden tone, the Great Pyramids of Giza bring many fascinating mysteries to the people of the world today. In Egypt, located on the banks of the Nile River, the purpose of these structures was to entomb the great Pharaoh Khufu and his many wives. With the hard work of 100,000 slaves, this marvelous wonder was created over 4,500 years ago.

DO NOT EVER USE… I’ll tell you why… I’m going to… You will love this… Well, I have to do a report on… You are about to hear… In this paper you will read… In this paper you will learn… In this paper you will see… As you saw… I hope you enjoyed my essay… Now I am going to… The word I… (Unless it is in your analysis) Etc.

Thesis Statement Exercise Write out the main idea for your paper (the point you want the reader to get) in 35 or fewer words. Include topic, location, fascinating facts, and what it symbolizes or what is its purpose.

Now answer these questions: Can I sum up the main idea of my paper in a nutshell? See if you can reduce to a sentence or two the main idea that you wrote just now. What "code words" (words that the reader would only understand if they read your paper) does the draft of my thesis statement contain? Are these words adequately explained?