Writing Your Introduction

The Introduction Should… Introduce what you’ll be writing about and lead your reader into the specifics of your topic. The Introduction Should…

Rules The introduction should be about 4-5 sentences long. Be written formally (like the rest of your presentation!) No 1st/2nd person pronouns such as I, me, my, our, etc. or Contractions such as don’t, can’t, shouldn’t, etc. Rules

The Hook Begin with a hook sentence A good hook grabs your reader’s attention Its tone should match the rest of your presentation Can be a quote, interesting fact, or an anecdote It should NEVER be a personal question The Hook

Transitioning from the Hook In order to link your hook to the topic, have a broad statement about the topic following the hook, and then lead into a more specific statement that gives background information about your topic. Each sentence should get more and more specific to the topic of the essay. Stay away from specific facts/details in your introduction. Transitioning from the Hook

5 W’s Try to answer some of the Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? about your topic in the introduction. 5 W’s

The last sentence of the introduction is the thesis statement. This states exactly what will be discussed in your presentation. It’s like a road map for your reader to guide them through your essay. Thesis Statement

Our topic is cell phones in schools… Who: students What: should or should not be allowed to have their phones in school When: during class Where: in school Why: distraction, cheating, ICE, access to info How: Practice

Practice Hook: “Put that phone away now!” is often commanded by teachers in the classroom these days. General statement relating hook to topic: The issue of students using cell phones throughout the school day is a relevant issue in education. Background information: The number of students who own a phone has increased drastically in the past five years, and more and more students are carrying them with them each day into the classroom (Smith 3). Thesis statement: While phones can be useful for accessing helpful information in class and contacting parents in cases of emergency, many feel that cell phones are a distraction in class and often lead to higher rates of cheating on exams.