First Thing First: Thursday, January 19 Four sentences. Do you have your SSR book??

Today Collect quotations and thesis statements 15 minutes to read Introduction Paragraph Time to work on yours Homework: three effective openers due tomorrow 15 minutes

Introduction Paragraph

What goes in the Introduction? Effective Opening—opens the paper in a way that makes sense and is engaging. Relates to the real world Bridge—relates what you say about the real world to your topic Roadmap—let the reader know what the topics of the body paragraphs are. Can preview the topics or give background information Thesis Statement—the one sentence that focuses your entire paper

Effective Openers

Question Think of a question or two that requires reflective thinking on the part of the reader. Here’s a sample about Mother Teresa: How would one react if one heard a mysterious voice calling them? What if that voice was telling them to go to one of the worst places on Earth?

Quote Find a quote that fits in with your topic, or a quote by your person that sums up what you want people to know about him/her. Here’s a sample about Mother Teresa: Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, said of Mother Teresa: “To meet her is to feel utterly humble, to sense the power of tenderness and the strength of love.”

Statistic Use a statistic that helps make a point, or a statistic that is unexpected or shocking, to get the reader’s attention. Here’s a sample about Mother Teresa: There are over 13,000,000 people living in Calcutta, India. Two-thirds of these people are profoundly poor, living in primitive slums or on the streets.

Little-Known Fact Surprise the reader with a little-known fact about your topic. It may make the reader want to know more about the topic. Here’s a sample about Mother Teresa: The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the highest honors a person can receive. Mother Teresa received this honor in 1979 for her work with the poor of Calcutta, India.

Fragments Use a series of sentence fragments to focus the reader’s attention on images or key words you want them to think about. Here’s a sample about Mother Teresa: Compassionate. Fearless. Strong. These are words that describe Mother Teresa.

Set a Scene Describe where the person was born, their turning point moment, etc. Here’s a sample about Mother Teresa: Filthy streets are cluttered with garbage, sacred cows wandering about, and the stench of poverty. In the middle of all this misery walks a woman in a white gown, Mother Teresa.

Metaphor Make a comparison between your person and something with similar qualities. Here’s a sample about Mother Teresa: Mother Teresa was an angel walking on the Earth.

Riddle Give some clues that lead to an answer that ties in to your person. Here’s a sample about Mother Teresa: She was called “mother” by millions, though she had no children of her own. She was Mother Teresa.

Definition State a definition in your own words that ties to your topic. Here’s a sample about Mother Teresa: A saint is someone who sets aside his or her own wants and needs to follow a higher calling.

Effective Opener Must apply to the real world. Ex: A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

Bridge Connect what you said in your opener to To Kill a Mockingbird. Ex: A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird’s fictional town of Maycomb, heroes walk amongst the citizens.

Roadmap Preview what your are going to talk about Give some background information on your topic. Ex: A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird’s fictional town of Maycomb, heroes walk amongst the citizens. Atticus defends a black man even though the majority of the town is against him. Link Deas supports Helen Robinson, not conforming to the town’s norms. Mr. Underwood risks his business in order to force the town to recognize their racism.

Thesis Statement Your point Ex: A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird’s fictional town of Maycomb, heroes walk amongst the citizens. Atticus defends a black man even though the majority of the town is against him. Link Deas supports Helen Robinson, not conforming to the town’s norms. Mr. Underwood risks his business in order to force the town to recognize their racism. By using ordinary men fighting for what is right in To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee proves that any person can become a hero.

Task Create THREE different openers you could use in your paper. Reminders for formal papers: No “you”, “I”, “we”, “us”, etc. (use “one”, “a person”, “people”, “the world”, etc. instead). No contractions (can’t = cannot; aren’t = are not; it’s = it is)