INTERESTING INTRODUCTIONS WHAT IS AN INTRODUCTION OPENING SENTENCES

INTERESTING INTRODUCTIONS

WHAT IS AN INTRODUCTION? • OPENING SENTENCES CAPTURE READER’S ATTENTION, ESTABLISH TONE, AND PROVIDE BACKGROUND INFORMATION • A THESIS WITH TWO CLAIMS (SUBPOINTS) ESTABLISHES FOCUS FOR A PAPER

ATTENTION-GRABBER • THE FIRST SENTENCES • GRAB AND ENTERTAIN THE READER • ENTICES THE READER TO KEEP ON READING • THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO DO THIS…

ANECDOTE • TELLS AN INTERESTING STORY RELATED TO YOUR TOPIC • EXAMPLE: IF I COULD REDO ONE CHOICE IN MY LIFE, I WOULD CHOOSE NOT TO RIDE MY COUSIN’S MOTORCYCLE. GROWING UP, I WANTED TO BE JUST LIKE MY COUSIN CHIP, EVEN WHEN HE GOT A DIRT BIKE. WHEN I WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD, I ASKED CHIP IF I COULD RIDE HIS NEW MOTORCYCLE. MY HAND REVVING THE THROTTLE, I TOOK OFF, SLID ON THE PAVEMENT, AND BECAME TRAPPED UNDER MY AUNT’S CAR. JUST AS I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT FIRST ABOUT RIDING MY COUSIN’S MOTORCYCLE, SO PONYBOY AND JOHNNY, IN THE OUTSIDERS BY SE HINTON, SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR CHOICES BEFORE ACTING. BECAUSE PONYBOY AND JOHNNY MADE A SHORTSIGHTED DECISION, THEY FACE CONSEQUENCES WITH THE LAW, THEIR FAMILIES, AND WITH THEIR CONSCIENCES.

DIALOGUE OR RELATED QUOTE • BE SURE TO INCLUDE SPEAKER AND CIRCUMSTANCES! • EXAMPLE: • “HOW AM I GOING TO TELL MY PARENTS I FAILED ENGLISH? ” “LINDA, JUST HIDE YOUR REPORT CARD AND SAY YOU LOST IT. ” WHILE I VALUE MY FRIENDSHIP WITH MY BEST FRIEND, I NO LONGER VALUE HER ADVICE. BRENDA’S WORDS HAUNT ME AS I REPLAY LAST WEEK’S EVENTS. IT IS NEVER OKAY TO LIE TO ONE’S PARENTS.

STARTING INFORMATION • INCIDENT, STATISTIC, SOUND • EXAMPLES: • BRRRRRING! BRRRRING! THE TELEPHONE AWOKE ME FROM A DEEP SLEEP. I FUMBLED TO BRING THE RECEIVER TO MY EAR JUST IN TIME TO HEAR A DEEP MALE VOICE DESCRIBE MY FATHER’S FATAL ACCIDENT. • DID YOU KNOW A CRISPY CHICKEN SALAD FROM BURGER KING CONTAINS AS MANY CALORIES A WHOPPER?

OPINION • WRITE AN ALL COMMENTARY INTRODUCTION • EXAMPLE: • LIKE SO MANY HOMELESS TEENS, ROGER, IN THE STORY “THANK YOU MA’AM, ” WAS NEVER TAUGHT RIGHT FROM WRONG. NOT HAVING A PARENT AROUND TO TEACH A CHILD LOVE AND RESPECT CAUSES A CHILD TO GROW UP WITH NO MORAL CONSCIENCE: THIS IS, IN FACT, ROGER’S GREATEST FLAW.

CONTROVERSIAL OR PROVOCATIVE QUESTIONS • ASK A QUESTION THAT WILL INSPIRE DISAGREEMENT OR CURIOSITY • EXAMPLE: • ARE YOU A LIAR? CAN YOU HONESTLY SAY YOU’VE NEVER TOLD A LIE? CAN ANY OF US? SUCH QUESTIONS REMIND US THAT MORALITY AND ETHICS ARE NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE.

DEFINITION • USEFUL IF YOUR PAPER IS CENTERED ON A KEY TERM OR CONCEPT THAT IS UNIQUE OR COMPLEX • EXAMPLE: • TO FULLY UNDERSTAND INTRICACIES OF THE RISE AND FALL OF COMMUNISM IN THE SOVIET UNION, ONE MUST FIRST UNDERSTAND KARL MARX’S PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNISM. MARX SAW A COMMUNIST SOCIETY AS ONE IN WHICH THERE WERE NO GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS OR SOCIAL CLASSES. GIVEN THIS DEFINITION, MARX’S COMMUNIST REVOLUTION SHOULD HAVE CREATED ECONOMIC SECURITY AND EQUALITY. HOWEVER, THIS WAS NEVER ACHIEVED IN RUSSIA BECAUSE OF THE DICTATORIAL LEADERSHIP OF JOSEPH STALIN.

ANALOGY • CREATE A SITUATION THAT THE READER CAN IDENTIFY WITH IN ORDER TO HELP THEM BETTER UNDERSTAND THE POINT OF THE PAPER • EXAMPLE: • AS A CHILD, ONE OFTEN IS QUITE PUT OUT BY THE UNFAIRNESS AND INJUSTICE OF SPANKINGS, GROUNDINGS, AND SCOLDINGS. A YOUNGSTER JUSTIFIES HIS/HER ACTIONS WITH THOUGHTS OF “IT WASN’T REALLY THAT BAD”, “HE STARTED IT”, AND “BUT IT WASN’T MY FAULT!”. HE OR SHE PROMISES TO NEVER “BE SO MEAN” WHEN HE/SHE IS A GROWN-UP. AT THE TIME, THOSE PUNISHMENTS APPEARED TO BE UNJUST, BUT AFTER SOME GROWING UP AND LIFE EXPERIENCES, THAT CHILD-WHO-NOW-IS-AN-ADULT REALIZES THAT THOSE TIME-OUTS HAD A PURPOSE, AND THUS WEREN’T COMPLETELY UNREASONABLE.

MAKE A TEXTUAL CONNECTION • MAKE A COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT TEXTS, HISTORICAL/CURRENT EVENTS, OR YOUR OWN PERSONAL HISTORY • EXAMPLE: • IMMORTALITY IS A CHARACTERISTIC MANY MEN HAVE SOUGHT TO OBTAIN. FOR WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO LIVE FOREVER? FOR THE EVERYDAY MAN, ETERNAL LIFE MAY APPEAR ELUSIVE, OR EVEN FICTITIOUS AS IS THE SORCERER’S STONE THAT GIVES IMMORTALITY TO ANY WHO POSSESS IT, WHICH IS WHY ANTAGONIST VOLDEMORT PLOTS TO GAIN IT IN J. K. ROWLING’S FANTASTICAL HARRY POTTER SERIES. CHRISTIANS ALSO ASPIRE TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE IN HEAVEN WITH GOD. YET, POET WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE PROVES THAT IMMORTALITY IS MORE EASILY ACHIEVED THAN A MAGICAL STONE OR GOOD WORKS IN HIS SONNETS.

GIVING BACKGROUND INFORMATION • AFTER HOOKING THE READER WITH AN ATTENTION GETTER • SUCH AS TITLE(S) AND/OR AUTHOR(S) • PROVIDES A SMOOTH TRANSITION FROM GENERAL TOPIC TO SPECIFIC THESIS • WHAT DOES YOUR READER NEED TO KNOW TO UNDERSTAND YOUR TOPIC?

PERSUASIVE THESIS • YOU SHOULD ALREADY HAVE YOUR THESIS WRITTEN! • INSERT IT AFTER YOUR ATTENTION GETTER AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION • EXAMPLE: • MARK TWAIN’S HUCKLEBERRY FINN IS A GREAT NOVEL BECAUSE OF THE LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT THE MAIN CHARACTER’S COMING OF AGE AND THE ISSUE OF RACISM.

STRUCTURE OF THE INTRODUCTION • ATTENTION-GRABBER • BACKGROUND INFORMATION • THESIS • ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE IN ONE PARAGRAPH!

MATCHING! • MATCH THE EXAMPLE INTRODUCTIONS WITH THE TYPE OF ATTENTION-GRABBER THEY CONTAIN.

“EL BESO” ANGELINA WELD GRIMKÉ’S POEM “EL BESO” PUSHES THE BOUNDARIES OF PROPRIETY. DESPITE THE TRANSLATION OF THE SPANISH TITLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE AS “THE KISS”, ANY READER CAN UNDERSTAND AFTER READING THIS PIECE EXACTLY WHAT GRIMKÉ IS DESCRIBING. AND WHAT A KISS THIS IS! NOT ONLY IS IT EROTICALLY PASSIONATE, BUT ENDEARING AS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO LOVERS IS REVEALED. THROUGH IMAGERY, DICTION, AND REPETITION, GRIMKÉ INVITES THE READER TO EXPERIENCE WITH HER SPEAKER THE PASSION THAT EMERGES FOR HER LOVER WITH JUST ONE KISS.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE AS A GUEST, THE HIGHLIGHT OF CHILDREN’S BIRTHDAY PARTIES AREN’T THE GAMES, THE PRESENTS, THE GOODY BAGS, OR EVEN THE PIÑATA WHICH THEY SECRETLY PRETEND IS THEIR ANNOYING YOUNGER BROTHER. IT IS THE CAKE. UNLESS, THAT IS, IT IS THE OTHER FLAVOR- THE OPPOSITE FLAVOR TO THEIR FAVORITE FLAVOR. THAT WRONG FLAVOR CAN TURN EVEN THE BEST BIRTHDAY PARTIES SOUR LIKE BROCCOLI. THIS OUTLOOK IS EXTREMELY BLACK AND WHITE, CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA, RIGHT AND LEFT. FOR FEMINISM, THIS HAS ALWAYS SEEMED THE NORM AS FEMINISTS ARGUE BUSINESS ATTIRE AGAINST APRONS. FEMINISTS NEVER SEEM TO BE ABLE TO CATCH A BREAK. THEIR EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENTS LOST, THEY CAN’T GET EQUAL PAY AT WORK, AND SOCIETY GENERALLY WANTS THEM TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE CHILDREN, COMPLETING THE CIRCLE OF LIFE. BUT THOSE ARGUING AGAINST SUCH PLEAS JUST THINK THAT WOMEN ALREADY HAVE THEIR PLACE IN THE WORLD- AT HOME MASTERFULLY BAKING AND ELABORATELY DECORATING THAT BIRTHDAY CAKE FOR BOBBY’S BIRTHDAY- AND DON’T NEED SPACE IN THE OFFICE, AND, THUS, DON’T NEED TO MAKE MONEY, SINCE IT IS THE MAN’S JOB TO BRING HOME THE BACON. HOWEVER, IMAGINE IF THERE COULD BE A MIDDLE GROUND WHERE EVERYONE WAS HAPPY. THERE WOULD BE NO DISAPPOINTED CHILDREN EARNESTLY AND TEARFULLY WISHING THAT THEY COULD TURN THAT CHOCOLATE CAKE VANILLA OR THAT VANILLA PIECE TO CHOCOLATE. PERHAPS THIS MIDDLE GROUND WITH FEMINISM IS CLOSER THAN WAS REALIZED- AND NOT IN THE FORM OF A BUSINESS APRON. WHILE IT MAY EXIST IN THE VARIETY OF HALF CHOCOLATE-HALF VANILLA CAKES, IT DOES NOT CURRENTLY EXIST IN THE REAL WORLD, BUT THAT DOES NOT STOP IF FROM BEING SO IN FILM. AS SUCH, THE PRINCESS BRIDE CAN BE THAT HALF CHOCOLATE-HALF VANILLA CAKE FOR FEMINISM AS IT COMBINES A MORE CONSERVATIVE FEMALE CHARACTER THAT HAS SLIGHTLY FEMINIST ATTRIBUTES AND POKES FUN AT ITSELF, PLAYING DOWN THE MORE TRADITIONAL ROLE OF DAMSEL IN DISTRESS THAT FEMINISTS SO OFTEN ATTACK AS BEING ANTI-FEMINIST.

BMU ESSAY FOR NUMEROUS CENTURIES, IN ENGLAND, PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE PART OF A GREAT CHAIN OF BEING, A HIERARCHY WITH GOD AND THE DIFFERENT ANGELS AND THE TOP, THEN HUMANS, ANIMALS, PLANTS, AND, FINALLY, ROCKS AT THE BOTTOM. TONY, OF RUDOLFO ANAYA’S CHICANO NOVEL BLESS ME, ULTIMA, ORIGINALLY BELIEVES HIS WORLD TO BE SIMILARLY STACKED WITH MEN ABOVE WOMEN, CATHOLICISM OVER PAGANISTIC ANIMALISM, AND HUMANS’ CONCERNS AS MORE IMPORTANT THAN NATURAL CONCERNS. BUT WHEN ULTIMA MOVES IN WITH THE MARÉZ Y LUNA FAMILY, THE HIERARCHIES THAT HAVE DOMINATED TONY’S WORLD BEGIN TO BREAK DOWN. THROUGH ULTIMA CURING UNCLE LUCAS, CICO SHOWING TONY THE GOLDEN CARP, AND THE DEATH OF ULTIMA’S SPIRIT OWL, TONY’S HIERARCHIES ARE GREATLY CHALLENGED AND CHANGE THE WAY THAT TONY VIEWS THE WORLD AS HE LEAVES CHILDHOOD BEHIND.

RADIO: THE TOUGHEST SOLDIER OUT THERE RACING DOWN I-35, HEADING NORTH FOR THE BREAK, I MULTI-TASK CHANGING LANES AND CHANGING THE RADIO STATION. SHOULD I LISTEN TO POSITIVE AND ENCOURAGING K-LOVE, TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY’S “THE OTHER SIDE OF RADIO”, OR THE MIX-MASH OF BOB FM? I TAKE MY FINGER OFF THE “SEEK” BUTTON AND SIP MY DRINK. A COMMERCIAL COMES ON; I’M AN AUTOMATON: REPLACE COKE CAN IN DRINK HOLDER AND FIND A NEW STATION. NOTHING BUT COMMERCIALS. MAYBE I’LL TRY AM. . . NOTHING THAT INTERESTS ME. I SWITCH BACK TO FM, BUT THEY’RE ON THEIR TEN-MINUTE BLOCK OF COMMERCIALS. AFTER FLIPPING THROUGH ALL THE CHANNEL OPTIONS THREE TIMES AND ONLY COMING UP WITH ADS, I DIG IN MY PURSE FOR MY IPOD TO PLUG INTO THE FM TRANSMITTER FOR THE SOUND TO COME OUT THROUGH THE CAR SPEAKERS. NOW I’M ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR STATIC FOR THE MP 3 PLAYER TO TRANSMIT ITS MUSIC OVER. RADIO IS STILL ENGAGED IN THE SAME BATTLE FOR LISTENERS IT HAS BEEN IN SINCE ITS INCEPTION. YET, THE RADIO AND LISTENERS HAVE A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP. RADIO CATERS TO AND ADAPTS ITSELF TO WHAT ITS LISTENERS WANT, AND THOSE TUNING IN RELY ON THE RADIO TO INFORM AND ENTERTAIN THEM. ONE COULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT THE OTHER. AGAINST THE ODDS OF NATIONAL EVENTS, TELEVISION, AND THE INTERNET, THE RADIO PERSISTS AND HAS AN EFFECT ON THOSE THAT TUNE IN. TO CONTINUE TO APPEAL TO LISTENERS AND TO SURVIVE AGAINST OTHER- MEDIA AND NON-MEDIA- ENEMIES, THE RADIO KEEPS SENDING TROOPS IN AND HAS EMPLOYED NUMEROUS STRATEGIES OVER THE DECADES, YET REMAINS AN INFLUENCE AND BATTLES ON.

MUSIC IN THE CLASSROOM “M-O-N-T-E-S-Q-U-I-E-U, MONTESQUIEU. HE GAVE US CHECKS AND BALANCES, AND THAT IS WHAT HE DO. MONTESQUIEU, MONTESQUIEU. ” THAT IS A LITTLE DITTY SUNG TO “THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB” THEME SONG THAT MY AP U. S. HISTORY TEACHER TAUGHT US IN ELEVENTH GRADE TO HELP US REMEMBER HOW TO SPELL MONTESQUIEU’S NAME AND WHAT HE DID FOR OUR FLEDGLING COUNTRY. WE ALL HAVE LEARNED DIFFERENT THINGS IN SCHOOL WITH THE HELP OF SONGS TEACHING US THE ABC’S TO THE STATES TO PREPOSITIONS THAT WE PROBABLY CAN STILL SING TODAY. BUT SONGS IN THE CLASSROOM CAN HAVE A LARGER IMPACT THAN JUST MEMORIZATION AND CAN EVEN HELP BEYOND TESTING AS WELL. ACCORDING TO KRASHEN’S INPUT-COMPREHENSION AND AFFECTIVE FILTER HYPOTHESES AND GARDINER’S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES THEORIES, MUSIC HELPS A CHILD PSYCHOLOGICALLY, AS WELL AS ACADEMICALLY, TO DO WELL IN THE CLASSROOM, ESPECIALLY IN AN ESL OR BILINGUAL CLASS.

STUTTERING “ALWAYS UP OR DOWN, NEVER DOWN AND OUT. / DREAM OF DEMONS WHILE YOU SLEEP, / THAT MAKE YOU STUTTER WHEN YOU SPEAK. / SPEAK NOW OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE IN PIECES” (THE ACADEMY IS. . . ) SINGS WILLIAM BECKET OF THE ACADEMY IS. . . IN THE SONG “DOWN AND OUT”. BECKETT KNOWS MORE THAN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT STUTTERING SINCE HE HAS HAD A STUTTER SINCE HIS CHILDHOOD (BECKETT). BUT HE IS NOT THE ONLY ONE. STUTTERING OCCURS IN PEOPLE OF ALL AGES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AND, AS SUCH, KNOWING THE FACTS ABOUT STUTTERING, THE CAUSES OF STUTTERING, TREATMENT FOR STUTTERING, MYTHS CONCERNING STUTTERING, AND INTERACTING TIPS WITH STUTTERERS CAN HELP FLUENT SPEAKERS UNDERSTAND THE PERSPECTIVE OF NOT-SO-FLUENT SPEAKERS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO SPEAK SO THAT THEIR PEACE IS NOT IN PIECES.

TWELFTH NIGHT THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE PLAY TWELFTH NIGHT OR WHAT YOU WILL BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE SUPPORTS THE MARXIST-MATERIALIST CONCEPT THAT ECONOMICS RULES ALL OTHER ASPECTS OF A CULTURE, INCLUDING POLITICS, INTELLECTUAL GAINS, RELIGION, SOCIETAL POSITIONS AND NORMS, AND THE ARTS. AS SUCH, THIS BASE IS REPRESENTED THROUGHOUT THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF THE PLAY. HOWEVER, ONE FACET THAT REMAINS STATIC THROUGHOUT IS THE CHARACTERS’ POSITIONS ON THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY AND HOW THEY ACT THE TYPICAL ARISTOCRAT AND MIDDLE-CLASS MAN, AS DETERMINED BY THEIR OWNERSHIP OF MONEY OR THEIR GREED FOR MONEY.

LOOKING BEYOND THE NARRATIVE IN BRAVE NEW WORLD BY ALDOUS HUXLEY, THE WORLD CONTROLLERS OF THE WORLD STATE DICTATE THAT NO HISTORY AND NO PRESTIGIOUS LITERATURE THAT GREATLY INFLUENCED AND SHAPED THE TWENTIETH CENTURY WOULD BE TAUGHT TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD STATE. THESE CITIZENS GREW UP WITHOUT THAT KNOWLEDGE, AND AS SUCH, LIVE A VERY DIFFERENT LIFESTYLE THAN THE WORLD DID PRIOR TO THE NINE YEARS’ WAR; THEIR CULTURAL LENSES ARE AFFECTED BY THIS LACK OF EDUCATION. TODAY, SPEAKER RAÚL A. RAMOS HAS RESEARCHED AND TEACHES THAT TEXANS’ CULTURAL LENSES HAVE BEEN GREATLY ALTERED BY THE FACT THAT TEXAS HISTORY TEXTBOOKS AND PRIMARY SCHOOL TEXAS HISTORY CLASSES TEACH STUDENTS ONLY ONE LAYER OF THE NUMEROUS THAT MAKE UP TEXAS HISTORY.