There are a variety of ways to begin your persuasive writing. Try using some of these examples in your introductory paragraph. Remember to use powerful language. S Kerr 2012

Think of a question that requires reflective thinking on the part of the reader. EXAMPLE It is cruel to keep animals in cages. How would you feel day after day, night after night being locked up in a cage, with your freedom lost and your future looking very dim? This is the case for many animals ranging from chickens that we get our eggs from to the large, glorious elephants that we all enjoy going to visit at the zoo. In the next few paragraphs I am going to share with you the reasons why I feel it is cruel and wrong to keep animals in cages.

Think of a story that is related to your topic. EXAMPLE It is cruel to keep animals in cages. The sun slowly began to rise and as the dark turned to light noises of the new day began to fill the air. The loud yawn of the loins, the trumpeting of the elephants, the splash of water as a crocodile goes for his morning swim. Another day for the many animals that call this place home. Another noise, the turn of a key, the clanging of a lock. This is not a noise that animals awake to in the wild, it is the noise of animals awaking to another day in their cages at a zoo. Is it cruel to keep animals in cages? In my opinion it is and I would like to tell you why.

Describe a scene that could come true if the topic was solved the way you believe it should. EXAMPLE It is cruel to keep animals in cages. If animals were not kept in cages then imagine all the terrible things that would happen. Endangered animals like the Tasmanian devil would become extinct because people would not be allowed to breed them in captivity. Dangerous animals would take over their habitats and other small creatures would have to move away and find other places to live or face death by their predators. Fore these reasons and more I believe that some animals should be kept in cages.

EXAMPLE It is cruel to keep animals in cages. Cruel, a word that means you are doing something to be mean, horrible to others. Many animals are kept in cages including some of our pets. Pet owners are not being cruel, they put their pets in cages to keep them safe, to protect them. Zoo keepers are not being cruel to animals in cages at the zoo, they are doing it to protect endangered species. As the statement suggests it is cruel to keep animals, I do not believe this to be true and I would like to tell you why. Explain the meaning of some of the words in the topic. State the meaning in your own words that ties to your belief.