WRITING THE INTRODUCTION
1. To understand others’ introductions and to write our own, we must examine the answers to three
questions:
a. What is an introduction supposed to do?
b. What it should contain?
c. How should it be organized?
2. WHAT IS IT SUPPOSED TO DO?
a. Awake the reader’s interest in the topic.
b. Convey the author’s enthusiasm about your topic.
3. WHAT IT SHOULD CONTAIN?
a. The central point—the author’s position—on the given topic.
b. Orient readers to the topic—provide enough background information.
4. HOW SHOULD IT BE ORGANIZED?
a. While there is not one single format for an introduction, most standards include the so called
“funnel” or “inverted triangle” approach.
In funnel approach, we begin with a broad topic
and end up with the very specific thesis statement.
5. Different openings (rhetorical hooks):
a. Offering statistics
b. Shocking statement
c. Giving a definition
d. Making a broad statement
e. Offering a personal anecdote
THEY ALL BEGIN WITH RELEVANT INFORMATION AND NARROW TO THE THESIS
STATEMENT (discussed later), which is the concluding thought of the introduction and a
promise for the body of the essay.)
6. What NOT to do in an introduction:
a. Avoid telling the reader that you are beginning the essay. We kind of know that.
i. “In this essay, I will discuss….”
ii. “I will talk about…”
iii. “I am going to prove…”
b. Do not apologize:
i. Although I am not an expert…
ii. In my humble opinion…
c. Do not refer to the later parts of your essay:
i. “By the end of this essay, you will agree….”
ii. “In the next paragraph, you will see…:
d. Don’t use trite (overused) expressions:
i. “busy as bee”
ii. “You can’t judge a book by its cover”
iii. “haste makes waste”
iv. “In our time today…”
e. Do not give supporting details for the central point—leave that to the body paragraphs.
7. Wonderful. Let’s practice:
a. Let us brainstorm an introductory paragraph together on “What contemporary problem do you
find most disturbing? Why”
b. Let’s pick of contemporary problem.
c. Let’s decide
i. Which type of introduction we will create?
ii. What type of background information will we give?
iii. What will be our main point—our stance?
8. “Although” clause opening:
a. “Although” expresses disagreement, contradiction.
b. When considering a controversial topic—an arguable topic, we often see both sides of the
argument. However, for the sake of writing a strong essay, we must decide which side of the
argument we will support. Nevertheless, we can use the other side of the argument to
introduce our topic:
i. Use the airline paragraph to create an “although” introduction.
9. Please read the following introductions carefully. Pay attention to how these authors begin their
introduction thus the whole essay.
a. Nobody likes to be ripped off. However, it happens, especially with airlines. A good case in
point involves the fare from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Washington, D.C. One company,
for example, charges $89, another $149, and still another $279. Each imposes restrictions, but
the mind is boggled by the dramatic differences in price for exactly the same service between
exactly the same cities. I find it puzzling that the airline industry is able to get away with
pricing that appear whimsical at best and downright unfair at worst.
b. Just like most nights at Wilkinson County EMS, it was slow. I had already settled in for the
night, not really expecting to do anything else for the remainder of my shift. My partner, Ken,
had already gone to bed and was sleeping soundly. I snuggled deeper under the covers, and
slowly began to drift off to sleep, when suddenly the emergency bell sounded, letting us know
that there was an emergency call and we needed to respond. I had no idea that this emergency
call would result in me meeting the man that I would want to spend the rest of my life with.
c. Once tax advantages are figured out, the oil companies make an average profit of twenty-five
cents on each gallon of gasoline sold, according to David Hapgood in a recently released
study. Such wildly skewed profiteering is one of several reasons for urging a revision of the
tax law.
d. Our attitude toward the word “drug” depends on whether we are talking about penicillin or
heroin or something in between. The unabridged three-volume Webster’s say a drug is a
“chemical substance administered to prevent or cure disease or enhance physical and mental
welfare” or “a substance affecting the structure or function of the body.” Webster’s should
have added “mind,” but they probably thought that was part of the body. Some substances that
aren’t drugs, like placebos, effect “the structure or function of the body,” but they work
because we think they are drugs.
From “Some American Drugs Familiar to Everyone by Adam Smith.
e. Grandparents who are present in their grandchildren’s lives act as an additional positive
influence in young children’s life. Many grandparents, thus, have changed the course of their
grandchildren’s course. Unfortunately, I am not one of those grandchildren. Two of my
grandmothers had died before I was born; my other grandparents still worked during my
younger years, which prevent them from spending time with me. Their lack of participation in
my life prevented them from getting to know me, resulted in my less-than-rounded childhood,
and produced a young adult who yearns for attention.
10. Here are the explanations for the above paragraps. Use major point 5 (written in read) to find the
names of each beginning.
a. Example (a) began with a shocking statement: “Nobody likes to be ripped off.” I bet that
sentence would catch most people’s attention, right?
b. The second example (b) began with a story, a personal anecdote. Read how well the author
(whose is a student) described the setting and the mood of that fateful night. Her introduction
is very catchy.
c. The third example (c) began with statistics. Hard numbers can be convincing as well as
shocking, so they wake up the readers’ attention.
d. The fourth example (d) began with explaning what the author means by “drugs.” This kind of
explanation is necessary and useful when a word, such as “drugs” can mean medicinal drugs
as well as illicit drugs, such as heroin.
e. The last example (e) began with a broad statement, including all grandparents in the
discussion. A word of caution about this opening: Do not be too general. General statements
can be false if you say that “Everybody likes the beach.” Obviously, that statement is not
correct because not everybody likes the beach. You also could not say, “All grandparents are
involved in their grandchildren’s lives.” That statement is, unfortunately, also not correct, so
stay away from generalizations that lead to false statements.