Introduction Paragraphs

Intro Paragraph No-No’s! Don’t announce your purpose for writing: The purpose of this essay is to . . . Intro Paragraph No-No’s! Don’t use a dictionary or encyclopedia definition! In fact, don’t use any outside sources in your intro paragraph! Don’t be wishy washy and suggest that your opinion doesn’t matter or that you are unsure of your topic or thesis.

Make your thesis statement the last sentence of the paragraph Intro Paragraph Yes’s Grab the reader’s attention Be specific, not general

Hook Ideas to get you Started: Anecdote: Little story that illustrates a point you are trying to make Drop your reader into a scene: Hook Ideas to get you Started: Rhetorical question (weakest of the three-overused!): Your rhetorical question can not be just the question your thesis answers!

Sample Introduction Outline I: Introduction The hook Structure and/or Methodology The essay’s main sections (structure) Why they come in that order (structural principle) The Thesis Statement (a single sentence) Its premise (the general claim about the information available) Its conclusion (the consequences of the first claim)

Work Cited http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm http://www1.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/introduction.htm http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html http://www.thewritertoday.com/2009/07/10-writing-hooks.html