1. Yay…it’s Monday!!! Time to learn how to write an introduction… and there was much rejoicing…

2. The Introduction 1. General 2. Narrow the Topic 3. Specific 1.Lead: Hook the reader by using: Quotes, statistic or fact, a strong statement, or a question 2.Introduce the topic: briefly explain 3.Topic statement

3. The Lead…  Quote: John Wayne once said, “Life is hard: harder if you’re stupid.”  Statistic or Fact: The average teen processes 3,700 texts per month.  Strong Statement: Students going to middle school for the first time are sometimes terrified about the transition.  Question: Light is a necessary part of plant growth, but do different colors of lights affect the way a plant grows?

4. Here’s whatcher gonna do…  Write an introduction for your paper  Start with a hook  Introduce the information generally  Thesis statement

5. Example: Most people know that light affects plant growth. Without light, many plants cannot grow at all, but do certain colors of light make plants grow faster or slower? Do some colors make plants grow taller than other colors will? Can light make plants grow with more leaves or fewer leaves? Many things affect growth in plants; by applying different colors of light, botanists are looking at the effects of phototropism on plant growth.

6. The Conclusion… 1. Specific 2. More General 3. General 1.Restate the thesis…please don’t re-write it…paraphrase. 2.Summarize the main points of the essay. 3.Something to think about.  Strong reflection, concluding thought, idea to support topic.