Writing from
Sources
Strategies for writing engaging leads,
integrating source material and formatting
your essay.
Simmons Writing Workshop 2015
Components of an
Introduction
O Every introduction should contain the
following:
O An engaging lead or “hook” to draw the
reader in
O Background information about the
topic/book/issue being discussed (2-3
sentences)
O A thesis statement or a *position statement
(*unique to argument writing)
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Lead Strategies
How to draw your readers in
hook, line and sinker!
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Tell a story
O Use a an anecdote or hypothetical situation
to engage your reader.
O Ex: “Many years ago, I can recall trying out for the
swim team with my best friend, Becca. Although
we were best friends, I always felt that she was
trying to outdo me when it came to swimming…”
O Ex: “Imagine finding out that your best friend, who
you share everything with, secretly hates you and
is jealous of all your accomplishments…”
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Use a Startling Statistic
O Find a statistic or some type of data that
your reader will find surprising, thus making
them want to read more.
O Ex: “In a recent survey of high school
students, over 85% said they had lost a good
friend due to what they consider to be
“healthy competition…”
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Use an Analogy
O Compare something your audience knows
and understands with something new and
different.
O Ex: “Competition among friends at an all-boys
private school is as intense as a bunch of
teenage girls trying to get first pick at a 50%
off Forever 21 sale.”
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Use a Quotation
O Begin with a quote from a text or from a well-
known figure that you can connect to a
theme or an idea in your paper.
O Ex: Jesse Owens once said, “Friendships born
on the field of athletic strife are the real gold
of competition. Awards become corroded,
friends gather no dust.”
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Ask a Question
O You can lead in with either a question that
you will immediately answer OR a rhetorical
question. It MUST be thought-provoking and
it MUST connect to the theme of your paper.
O Ex: “Did you ever wonder how it must feel to
have a best friend who is good at
everything?”
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What Comes Next?
1. Transition from your lead into some background
information about your topic or about the text you
are writing about. You must contextualize your
topic so your reader has a frame of reference!
2. Be sure to include a TAG line (title, author, genre)
3. For a persuasive essay, the last part of your
introduction should be your claim or position
statement.
4. For other types of writing, your thesis goes after
background info.
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Body Paragraphs
How to format and properly cite textual
evidence
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Components of a Body
Paragraph
O Each body paragraph should address one of
the main points from your thesis or position
statement.
O Each body paragraph should have a topic
sentence.
O You must prove your ideas using textual
evidence.
O All evidence must be explained.
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Introducing Text
O To properly include textual evidence, follow
the I.C.E. strategy
I- Introduce quote or textual evidence
In Chapter 2, Gene’s jealousy of Finny
becomes apparent when he says, …
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Introducing Text
O To properly include textual evidence, follow
the I.C.E. strategy
c- cite the text
…“I was beginning to see that Finny
could get away with anything. I couldn’t
help envying him a little.”(18) page #
in parentheses
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Introducing Text
O To properly include textual evidence, follow
the I.C.E. strategy
E- explain and analyze the quote
This shows us that, even though Gene
outwardly goes along with everything
Finny says and presents himself as his
“best friend”, he still harbors some
jealousy and animosity towards him.”
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Wrapping Up Paragraph
O Transition word or phrase +
In conclusion
As is evidenced in…
In summary
To conclude
In closing
Therefore
As a result
Thus, hence, so
Finally
Consequently
O Restate the main point
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Counterclaim
(Argument Writing)
O Also called the concession or counterargument
O The other side of an argument
O You must acknowledge counterargument or
address different perspectives on the issue.
O Introduce counterclaim with a transitional phrase
that lets the reader know it’s an alternative
viewpoint:
Some say…
Many believe…
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Others may argue…
Many people think…
Refutation
O Must come immediately after you’ve
introduced the counterclaim
O You must state in your paper why the
counterclaim is invalid or less valid than your
claim.
O You must use evidence from the text to
support your refutation.
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Transitioning into Conclusion
O Use some of these words to transition into a
conclusion…
In conclusion
In summary
In closing
As a result
Finally
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As is evidenced in…
To conclude
Therefore
Thus, hence, so
Consequently
Conclusion
O Reassert your claim
O Review the main points of your paper
O Present final appeals/call to action
O Do not include any new information
O Come full circle
O End with a clincher
Simmons Writing Workshop 2015