Good Beginnings Title & Introduction Paragraph Click speaker icon for sound

Catching the Readers’ Interest The Importance of the Title Good titles attract attention and make readers want to read –Poor: My Goal to be an airplane pilot –Better: Up, Up, and Away! Good titles announce the tone of the piece –Poor: My Sad Birthday –Better: Tears on my Birthday Cake

Do’s and Don’ts of Title Writing Do write the title at the top center of the page Do capitalize the first and last words as well as all important words [don’t capitalize a, an, and, the, etc… unless they are the first or last word] Do not underline or put your title in quotation marks Do not put a period at the end of a title [you may use a question mark or exclamation point if appropriate] Do keep your title short and to the point [Don’t write a complete sentence] Don’t use a mere label or a boring, cliché title Do consider the tone of your essay [funny, sad, angry, formal, informal, etc…]

Structure of the introduction paragraph

Attention Getters Quote or literary allusion –“I was angry with my friend. I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe, I told it not, my wrath did grow.” William Blake Relevant story, joke, anecdote –A momma mouse and baby mouse were crossing the road when a cat jumped in front of them. The clever momma mouse yelled, “Ruff, Ruff!” The surprised cat ran away. The momma mouse said to her baby, “Now you know the importance of speaking a foreign language!”

A Contrast –Eat more and lose weight fast! –Abraham Lincoln in Ran for State Legislature and LOST as well as losing his job that same year. In 1838 –he was defeated in his attempt to become speaker of the state legislature and in 1843 he ran for Congress and LOST. In 1854 he ran for the Senate of the United States and LOST. However, Despite all of these setbacks Abraham Lincoln was still elected President of the United States in A Historical Approach –Establish credibility –Set the stage

Errors to avoid in lead-ins Make sure the attention getter matches the thesis statement! Keep the lead in brief Don’t begin with an apology or complaint Don’t assume the audience knows the subject Stay clear of boring, overused lead-ins

Connecting the attention getter to the thesis statement The lead in should be followed by a general statement that transitions from the lead in to the topic. The next few sentences get more and more specific and provide information to the reader about the topic and your opinion of the topic. The thesis and plan of development are the final sentences in your introductory paragraph.

One good example “I was angry with my friend. I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe, I told it not, my wrath did grow.” (William Blake, A Poison Tree). Most people believe they can tell the difference between friends and enemies. It seems simple. Friends are good to us, and enemies are not. However, it has often happened that someone we once considered a friend became an enemy. And what a deadly enemy old friends can be! Old friends know all our secrets and private affairs. They often share the same friends and can turn them against us with their evil whisperings. Before trusting anyone with your most private affairs, you need to make sure he or she is a true friend and not a friend turned enemy.

Another good example How do you do it? How do you get those good grades and have a life?” A friend asked me, “Do you have a method that you can teach me?” “Yes,” I replied. “I do. And everyone can learn it!” I have been going to school for many years, and I have learned that there is more to getting good grades in college than simply attending classes and taking tests. Students who understand the system and use it to their advantage get further faster, and so can you. The “Teacher Suck-up Method” won’t get you an “A” if you get an “F” on every assignment. However, the “Teacher Suck-Up Method” can help you get bumped up a higher grade than your test scores indicate by getting your teachers to know your name and care about you as a person. If you follow the steps for before, during, and after class sessions, your teachers will find themselves giving you a higher grade.