Informational Writing: Effective Introductions Grade 9 Copyright © 2015 by Write Score LLC

Informational Writing: Review Also called explanatory essays Purpose is to inform or educate reader on a certain topic—can even be controversial as long as the reader does not choose a side Needs a strong introduction to pull the reader in

Informational Writing: The Introduction Your introduction should: include a thesis capture your audience’s attention NOTE: An introduction does NOT have to be in a particular order, nor does it all have to be in a single paragraph, but these elements should be at the beginning of your paper.

Writing the Thesis: What is a thesis? a clear, specific statement of what you plan to share in your paper could be an answer to the question asked (is assigned)

Writing the Thesis: How to Write a Thesis for Informational Essays Define your topic. You have to know what you are writing/talking about before you can formulate your thesis. Tighten your focus. With explanatory/informational writing this is primarily going to be about narrowing the topic so that it is manageable for the size of the paper you are writing. Write/Revise thesis for an outline. Use the thesis as a roadmap for the rest of your paper. All the points you make in the rest of the paper should relate directly to your thesis statement.

Informational Writing: The Introduction: WHAT NOT TO DO Your introduction should not: Announce what you are going to do in the paper Example: In this paper, I will.... In this essay, I am going to talk about.... Define the topic/word According to Merriam Webster, determination is defined as... Include a forced “grabber” or “hook” In other words, do not create a grabber that does not relate to the context of the essay, just to say you have it.

Informational Writing: Introductory Techniques You can begin your essay in many ways. We will look at techniques that writers often use to begin their essays: an Analogy/Comparison a Paradoxical or Intriguing Statement

Introductory Techniques: Begin with an Analogy/Comparison: Make a comparison with something the reader is most definitely familiar with, or if you are requested to read two items and write about one, you can initially make reference to the other. Example: Friends and family in literature often take a courageous stand for one another. In “The Hunger Games”, Katniss volunteers to take her sister’s place in the games. Similarly, even though Huckleberry Finn believes that he will “go to hell” for doing so, he bravely helps his friend Jim.  

Introductory Techniques: A Paradoxical or Intriguing Statement: This can be something directly opposite of what is usually perceived about your topic, or it could just be a really interesting statement or fact. In the example below, this grabber also incorporates the thesis statement. Example: “Eat a chocolate bar, and call me in the morning.” Such advice from your cardiologist might sound like a sugar fanatic’s dream, but recent studies have, indeed, confirmed that chocolate may reduce heart disease risk.

Informational Writing: An Example Introduction Take a closer look at the rockfish, and you can see it has a glass eye. Rockfish that live in tanks often get an eye disease and some lose an eye. An operation can now fix that. https://newsela.com/articles/fish-glasseye/id/6898/ What is the introduction technique, and where is the thesis?

Introduction Technique: Informational Writing: An Example Introduction Introduction Technique: Surprising Fact The Thesis Take a closer look at the rockfish, and you can see it has a glass eye. Rockfish that live in tanks often get an eye disease and some lose an eye. An operation can now fix that. https://newsela.com/articles/fish-glasseye/id/6898/

Rewrite the introduction using another technique, such as a comparison. Take a closer look at the rockfish and you can see it has a glass eye. Rockfish that live in tanks often get an eye disease and some lose an eye. An operation can now fix that. https://newsela.com/articles/fish-glasseye/id/6898/

Informational Writing: Drafting The Introduction Your Turn! Select three techniques to try on your own using the writing task on the following slide. Use your handout as a guide. Use a Surprising Fact or Statistic Describe Something Ask a Question Provide Background Personal Anecdote an Analogy/Comparison a Paradoxical or Intriguing Statement Use a Quotation Tell a Story

Informational Writing: Drafting The Introduction Writing Task: How are Greenland and Iceland both similar and different? Write an explanatory essay based on the articles “Greenland” and “Iceland.”