Introductory Paragraph

Introductory Paragraph Contains—IN THIS ORDER: Hook Background Information Claim Statement

Hook This needs to catch the attention of the reader!

Ask a question. Who, in America, doesn’t enjoy a good Superbowl? The excitement of the game and the talent of the players is contagious. In fact, it is one of the most watched television events of the year. What if all of that was taken away because of the fear of concussions?

Share a Statistic Concussions in the NFL are a growing problem. In fact, the NFL saw the concussion rates grow 58 % in 2015 alone. This is a dangerous trend in America and one that needs to stop.

Pose a hypothetical situation. Imagine being in the stands of an intense hockey game. The sound of the crowd, the competition between the players is exciting. Everything is perfect…until two players ram into one another and one player doesn’t get up. The whistle is blown, the ice is cleared and the paramedics take that player away as the crowd wonders what just happened. This occurs, more often than it should, in the world of high contact sports.

Tell a short story. Rookie receiver, Adrian Coxson, was a force to be reckoned with in American football. His future looked bright with the Green Bay Packers. During a practice drill, Adrian was hit in such a way that it caused a serious concussion. It ended his career in a second. The doctors told him that if he was hit again, it could be fatal.

Prompt for Hook Competition Many people believe that lying is one of the worst things a person can do. They view it as something that hurts everyone and eventually destroys or consumes the person that lies.  Others believe that lying can sometimes be the best way to handle a situation. They view it as protecting someone's feelings or calming a difficult situation. Many people in our lives share the belief that sometimes the truth is not in everyone's best interest. Is it sometimes in everyone's best interest to tell a lie?

So, let’s go back to the parts of an introductory paragraph…

Introductory Paragraph Contains—IN THIS ORDER: Hook ---We have talked about this, and practiced it! Background Information—WE NEED TO DISCUSS THIS! Claim Statement---We have talked about this, practiced it and tested it!

Background Information gives: Information about the topic (as though the reader has NEVER heard of the topic before). What two sides to the argument are there? (You need to tell the reader which two sides are being argued BEFORE your claim—that way they will know which side YOU are on). Basically, the background information just explains what is being talked about and what is being argued.

Background Information for this prompt: Prompt: Some schools want to change over from paper texts to electronic texts. They believe this will be safer for the environment. Others think that going electronic is a bad idea. What should schools do? Background Information for this prompt: What is considered paper text and what is considered electronic? Why have schools used one over the other for so long? Why do people feel the need to change now? Our schools seem to be living in the past…continuing to use outdated books, maps, and other paper texts. Why would we continue to use paper texts when electronic texts are so much better? Up until recently, digital texts (such as chrome books and i-pads) were seen as something too expensive or ‘futuristic’ for schools to consider them seriously. However, digital texts are now becoming easier to buy and manage. There are some who think schools should switch from paper texts to digital texts. Others believe paper texts are better for students.

What might my full introductory paragraph look like?

In the 1980s movie, Back to the Future, Marty McFly is able to travel through time and give audiences an entertaining peek into what people thought the future would be like. There were flying cars, hover boards and even self- drying clothes. While many inventions that were imagined in the movie are quite unrealistic, there is one thing they did get right: digital and technological texts. Now we live in a world that is a lot like what Marty saw in Back to the Future, surrounded by computers that can easily be held in our hands. However, our schools seem to be living in the past…continuing to use outdated books, maps, and other paper texts. Why would we continue to use paper texts when electronic texts are so much better? Up until recently, digital texts were seen as something too expensive or ‘futuristic’ for schools to consider them seriously. However, digital texts are now becoming easier to buy and manage. There are some who think schools should switch from paper texts to digital texts. They believe it will have great benefits to our schools. Schools should replace paper texts with electronic texts because it is more environmentally friendly, it will reduce the need to purchase updated books each year, and it will help prepare students for technology in the future.

Introductory Paragraph Contains—IN THIS ORDER: Hook Background Information Claim Statement

In the 1980s movie, Back to the Future, Mary McFly is able to travel through time and give audiences an entertaining peek into what people thought the future would be like. There were flying cars, hover boards and even self- drying clothes. While many inventions that were imagined in the movie are quite unrealistic, there is one thing they did get right: digital and technological texts. Now we live in a world that is a lot like what Marty saw in Back to the Future, surrounded by computers that can easily be held in our hands. However, our schools seem to be living in the past…continuing to use outdated books, maps, and other paper texts. Why would we continue to use paper texts when electronic texts are so much better? Our schools seem to be living in the past…continuing to use outdated books, maps, and other paper texts. Why would we continue to use paper texts when electronic texts are so much better? Up until recently, digital texts (such as chrome books and i-pads) were seen as something too expensive or ‘futuristic’ for schools to consider them seriously. However, digital texts are now becoming easier to buy and manage. There are some who think schools should switch from paper texts to digital texts. Others believe paper texts are better for students. Schools should replace paper texts with electronic texts because it is more environmentally friendly, it will reduce the need to purchase updated books each year, and it will help prepare students for technology in the future.

Let’s put it into practice Let’s put it into practice. As a class, we will write an essay to the following prompt: Edgar Allan Poe is considered a master writer to many people in the literary world. However, there are some who think Edgar Allan Poe is a mediocre writer, without creativity and skill. Was Edgar Allan Poe a brilliant author, or someone from history who just got lucky?

Murder, mayhem, and terror…these are all words that come to mind when one hears the name, Poe. Premature deaths, mysterious women, and unreliable narrators all come together to create suspense for the reader of his stories and poems. Edgar Allan Poe, a writer in the 1800s, lived a tragic life full of loss and sorrow. At a young age he lost his mother, and later lost his foster mother and beloved wife to tuberculosis. This set him on a path to write poems and stories that echoed the horror of his own life. There are some, in the literary world, who think Poe’s writing is brilliant. However, there are also people who believe his writing was nothing more than a mediocre attempt at fame. Edgar Allan Poe was a brilliant writer because of his use of repetitive phrases, his creation of suspenseful settings, and the way he would fill his writing with creepy imagery.