Introductions

Components of an Introduction The introduction paragraph typically has: Attention-Getter (Hook) Quote Anecdote/story Set Up for the Thesis Background information Transitions from your big idea (hook) to the thesis statement Thesis Statement

Tip #1: Identify the text ITALICIZE THE TITLE OF THE NOVEL. Do NOT underline it. Make sure that you write it out exactly as it appears on the book’s cover. Short stories and poems get QUOTES. You don’t need a unique sentence to introduce the author and the title; you should build it into a sentence in the introduction. For example: –“Most readers of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre find Mr. Rochester an attractive and sympathetic figure…”

Tip #2: Set-up your Thesis/Claim! After the attention getter or hook, writers need to gradually narrow the broad subject towards the thesis. Gradually narrowing can: provide background information, explain underlying information, describe the complexity of the issue, introduce various layers of the subject, and help transition from these more broad ideas to the narrow thesis. Broad Ideas Thesis statement

Tip #3: never, ever, ever do these... bluntly announce the essay's intent ("In this essay I will...) make unreasonable statements (“ALL people in Victorian times…”) apologize for the material that is being written ("In my humble opinion...") go into a detailed account of the writing (plot summary) include random information that has nothing to do with the essay (“Queen Victoria is actually the alleged founder of the Illuminati...”) use an encyclopedia or dictionary definition ("According to Webster's...) dilly-dally. Get to it. Move confidently into the essay.

Example In his 1994 autobiography Long Walk To Freedom, Nelson Mandela wrote, "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear" (50). Being afraid does not make someone weak; instead, overcoming fear proves that the person has the strength to defeat anything. Katniss Everdeen, teenager forced to represent her district in a death-match against other children; Scout Finch, a child dealing with the effects of Jim Crow racism; Hazel Grace, a young girl attempting to beat cancer all exhibit the triumph over fear. These protagonists all demonstrate the idea that without courage, there is no fear. In Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars, the authors use major plot events, vivid figurative language and several types of conflict to convey the idea that fear often motivates us to do things we never thought were possible.

Provide background to set up thesis Example Introductory Hook In his 1994 autobiography Long Walk To Freedom, Nelson Mandela wrote, "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, But he who conquers that fear" (50). Being afraid does not make someone weak; instead, overcoming fear proves that the person Has the strength to defeat anything. Katniss Everdeen, teenager Forced to represent her district in a death-match against other children; Scout Finch, a child dealing with the effects of Jim Crow racism; Hazel Grace, a young girl attempting to beat cancer all exhibit the triumph over fear. These protagonists all demonstrate the idea that without courage, there is no fear. In Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars, the authors use major plot events, vivid figurative language and several types of conflict to convey the idea that fear often motivates us to do things we never thought were possible. Provide background to set up thesis Thesis statement

Introduction Checklist Do you have a hook? Provide the name of the authors. Title of the literary works. Do you have enough backstory to create a connection between the texts you are discussing? Is there a clear and specific thesis? Located at the end of the introduction?

Independent Work Step 1. Begin your introduction and work on it until the end of the period. We will be in the COMPUTER ROOM (Room A317) tomorrow to finish our introductions, submit them to www.turnitin.com and do our conclusions.