1. Intro. for Research Paper What you need: – Attention Getter – Background information of topic (brief summary of events) – Thesis

2. Intro.= Attention Getter First line of your intro. Needs to “capture” the readers attention Can be: – Fact/ statistic : 71% of people in Elizabethan London were killed by the Black Plague. – Question: Can a single diseased rat change the course of history? – Something different: Famous Quote= William Shakespeare believed that, “All the world’s a stage/ and the men and women merely players” if this is true then the first plague infested rat was the star of the show.

3. Intro.= Summary of Topic You need to give your reader back ground information on the subject so they are not confused when reading your essay. – This should be about 6-8 sentences long – Ex: The Black Plague – It is hard to imagine that the Black Plague that ravaged Europe and killed nearly a 1/3 of Europe’s population was started by a small flea on the back of a rat. The Plague was first recorded in Eastern China and due to trade and merchant travel, it soon spread across Europe… (keep in mind this will be a summary of things you have learned--- be sure to paraphrase and not plagiarize!)

4. Intro.= Thesis REMEMBER thesis is ALWAYS the LAST sentence of your intro. The first part of the thesis should be your initial question reworded into a statement The last part of your thesis needs to list your 2 points/ pieces of evidence that explains or “proves” your topic

5. Intro.= Thesis cont... EX: The Black Plague was so detrimental to Elizabethan society because it was impossible to cure which resulted in many lives lost and it shut down trade, leading to the destruction of the economy. – (The underlined parts- evidence that supports and explains my argument.--- Each body paragraph proves one of my points) Remember: Your thesis is ONE SENTENCE!

6. My Whole Intro… – William Shakespeare believed that, “All the world’s a stage/ and the men and women merely players” if this is true then the first plague infested rat was the star of the show. It is hard to imagine that the Black Plague that ravaged Europe and killed nearly a 1/3 of Europe’s population was started by a small flea on the back of a rat. The Plague was first recorded in Eastern China and due to trade and merchant travel, it soon spread across Europe. The Black Plague was so detrimental to Elizabethan society because it was impossible to cure which resulted in many lives lost and it shut down trade, leading to the destruction of the economy