Introductory Paragraph Introductory paragraph The most important paragraph

Introductory Paragraph

Introductory paragraph: The most important paragraph.

What introductions do: It’s is like greeting someone, it should be short and to the point like saying, “Hello!” It sets the tone of the paper It informs the reader what the paper will be about without getting into the meat of essay.

Parts of an introduction 1. Hook/Attention Grabber: 1 st few sentences that make the reader want to read the paper. 2. Transition sentence ( not always necessary). � Acts as a bridge between the hook and thesis. � Give back ground info, defines terms, ect 3. Thesis: � Topic sentence of your essay. � Last sentence in your introduction � One sentence that states the (1)topic, (2)what you will explain with two reasons.

Example 1 Today smoking is an issue which is on everybody’s mind. The whole country is divided on this issue. Some people believe that smoking should be banned everywhere while others are not so harsh. Tobacco should be outlawed because smoking endangers everyone’s health and drains us of valuable energy. Underline –Hook Sentence Circle– Bridge (Transition to Thesis) Box- Thesis

Example 2 What do you think about banning smoking? The whole country is divided on whether smoking should be banned. Smoking should be outlawed because it endangers everyone’s health and it drains us of valuable energy. Red Font – Hook Sentence Blue Font – Bridge (Transition to Thesis) Black Font - Thesis

Class Practice Do you think that college athletes should be paid more than just tuition? Many people believe that college athletes should get paid while others believe they should not. College athletes should be paid because they practice long hours and the schools are profiting through the athletes efforts.

Examples of Strong fact or opinion hooks Almost every time that you turn on the television you will find a number of shows which are extremely violent. Many public schools have decided that their students should use uniforms. In the United States of America the public burning of our flag has become a common sight.

Examples of question introduction Are you ever bothered by the excessive violence on prime television? Do you think that to improve our public school education the students should be required to wear uniforms? Should we allow citizens to burn the United States flag in public?

Tips for a GREAT ESSAY It contains strong verbs ( to be and to have are not strong) It places the reader in a time and space It has strong images the reader can see in their head It has details It creates a mood

Practice Americans are in constant struggle with their weight. Write an essay explaining the reasons why Americans suffer with weight problems.