1. Hook, Set-Up, Preview, Claim Coming Up Next!!!

2.  Hook the Reader’s Interest  Show That the Topic Is Significant  Establish the Context of the Argument  Introduce the Main Claim  Preview the Argument to Come

3.  Attention grabbing facts and statistics - alone or in combination with one of the following strategies  A story (real or hypothetical) or a case study - can move, intrigue or shock the reader  An example - illustrates something at the heart of the argument  The moment before the moment – dramatically sets the stage by showing the reader how something important changed 9/11/2001 8:45 a.m.

4.  Show that a phenomenon is widespread and important – the percentage of Americans who are obese, number of acts of violence in an episode of a children’s show, number of teen pregnancies in 2011, number of bottled waters sold in 2010  Show that something is changing – increase in unemployment, increase in cost of college tuition, decline in the number of glaciers in Glacier National Park since 2000  Compare or contrast two things – rates of marriage and rates of out-of-wedlock births; deaths from heart disease and deaths from cancer; number of anticipated new job openings in a field and the number of estimated new graduates in that field

5.  A well-chosen, well-told story or case study enables the reader to “relate” to the topic in a personal way AND introduces the main concepts and concerns of the argument  Case studies should be real  A story can be real or hypothetical – tell the reader which it is  The story or case study should only include detail relevant to the paper  Requires a transition to the Main Claim and argument

6.  Includes all the working parts of the claim  Is about someone or something that is an accurate example for your argument  Works well in combination with facts and statistics  Warning: Too few details results in a weak effect and/or allows too much for reader interpretation  Warning: Including lots of extraneous details confuses and even irritates the reader

7.  Examples, like stories, give the reader something to “visualize” and relate to  It is up to you to describe the example in ways that draw the reader’s attention to the characteristics that matter to your paper  Examples can be people, places, things, events, visual images, TV shows, music lyrics, books and other text, etc.

8.  Examples only work if they are accurate representatives  Examples work when you point out to the reader what he or she should notice  Examples have maximum effect if you continue to refer to them in the body of your paper  Examples work well with facts and statistics

9.  Different introduction strategies should be combined in a seamless way  Combining a story/case study or an example with facts and statistics ◦ John is one of the ________ Americans who has experienced _______ - transitions from specific to general ◦ Fifty million Americans have endured _________. Like those Americans, John suffered ________ - transitions from general to specific  Use similar techniques with examples

10.  Sets the stage for a dramatic change by telling the reader what it was like before something happened. ◦ At 8:45 a.m. on 9/11/2001 Americans still believed that American soil was safe. At 8:46, flight 11 slammed into the World Trade Center and everything changed. ◦ Before the 1992 release of “Cop Killer” by Ice-T, violent lyrics in rap music were largely written off …

11.  Important topics are worth reading about  A topic is important because its effects are widespread  A topic is significant because its effects cause serious harm  A topic is significant because its effects cause serious benefits  A topic is significant because failing to pay attention will have serious consequences

12.  It is not enough to say that your topic is important – you must demonstrate it  Facts and statistics are the easiest way to demonstrate significance  Claims by highly credible experts can also be helpful – but be careful of biased sources!  It is enough to show that a topic is significant to a particular group – everyone in the world does not have to care

13.  Another job your introduction might do is presenting contextual information necessary for understanding the argument  Contextual information can also be presented early in the body of the argument  Like other introductory material, contextual information should be concisely delivered – enough detail but not too much  If presented in the introduction, the material must help hook the reader

14.  Timeliness: Shows why the argument is important now.  Relevant historical information  Relevant cultural, social, political or scientific backdrop for the argument

15.  Importance now: compounding factors, impeding threshold for a change, etc.  Claims about compounding factors that make the argument important now need to be supported with evidence: facts, statistics and/or testimony of experts  Claims about impending thresholds must also be supported with evidence – typically testimony of experts or, in the case of “hot button” issues, predictions from both “sides” of the issue.  Any evidence presented in the introduction must be short and succinct. You can further develop timeliness in the body of the argument

16.  Historical Context: Focus on the most relevant time-frame. Do not go back to the beginning of time. You must say why the timeframe is relevant.  Use words and phrases like “Prior to …”, “Before …”, etc. You can focus on dates, well-known eras, or events to establish time frames  Any evidence presented in the introduction must be short and succinct. You can further develop historical context in the body of the argument

17.  Establishing the backdrop: what else is going on socially, culturally, politically or otherwise that the reader needs to think about in order to understand the argument and/or its importance?  If the popular discourse on the subject is polarized, giving the reader a sense of that discourse might be helpful. Use phrases like “On the one hand … On the other hand, etc.  Use phrases like currently, “at the same time,”  Any evidence presented in the introduction must be short and succinct. You can further develop the backdrop in the body of the argument

18.  Think of your reader as intelligent but suffering from short-term amnesia  Introduce the Main Claim near the end of the introduction so that the reader will remember it as the argument begins  The acknowledgement or “Although” clause should be closely related to your argument and introduction  Once your draft is complete, make sure that the Main Claim is what you actually argued in the paper

19.  The typical reader wants a general roadmap  The “becauses” associated with the Main Claim preview the argument to come  The preview may be presented in several sentences that follow the Main Claim  The preview should not present specific evidence