THE EFFECTIVE INTRODUCTION To get your reader interested in your subject matter— and to keep him or her reading—there are five different strategies you can use. You should choose the strategy you feel is best to get your idea across to your audience and to suit your purpose.

A QUOTE This should tie into your subject matter and come from a recognized authority in the field. Using a quote will give your writing believability and help convince your reader to read on. Drunk driving is very dangerous. It can cause accidents that kill or injure thousands of people every year. In fact, last year over 25,000 people died because people drink and drive. "Drinking kills more young drivers than any other cause," said John Smith, head of Highway Safety. "Their corpses scatter the highways of America every night."

A Startling Fact or Surprising Statistic Either of these will arrest the reader's attention to or shock, horrify, anger, or amuse your reader into reading more Drunk driving is very dangerous. It can cause accidents that kill or injure thousands of people every year. In fact, last year over 25,000 people died because people drink and drive. Imagine a line of dead and mangled bodies stretching for twenty-five miles—25,000 corpses. That is the number of victims of drunk driving every year.

A Rhetorical Question: This kind of question provokes thought and helps get the reader involved in your subject matter. Your job in the paper is to provide the answer to this question. Drunk driving is very dangerous. It can cause accidents that kill or injure thousands of people every year. In fact, last year over 25,000 people died because people drink and drive. What's the number-one killer of young people between the ages of 18 and 21? Cancer? Heart disease? No. The main cause of dead young adults is alcohol—alcohol mixed with automobiles—a deadly combination.

AN ANECDOTE This short story will involve your reader and also help you to illustrate a point or tell a moral. Drunk driving is very dangerous. It can cause accidents that kill or injure thousands of people every year. In fact, last year over 25,000 people died because people drink and drive. The young driver turns the stereo up louder and smiles as he dreams of the fun he had at the party—plenty of good music and beer. Suddenly a tree appears from out of nowhere. He grabs at the wheel to turn the car. Headlights swerve in the darkness. But it's too late. A patrol officer screams to find the twisted body of another kid who drank and drove.