How to write an
Introductory paragraph
Step-by-step from the thesis
statement
This is your thesis:
The cathedral is a symbol of
the man’s connection with
the blind man.
It should end your
introductory paragraph
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
Introduction ntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
The cathedral is a symbol of the man’s connection
with the blind man.
So, what do you put in place of
all those words?
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
Introduction ntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
The cathedral is a symbol of the man’s connection
with the blind man.
Work backwards to the other
components of the Introduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntro GRAB ATTENTION Introd
uctionIntroductionIntroduction Introduction ntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroduction IntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionIntroductionIntroduction IntroductionIntroduction
Introduction Intro GIVE BACKGROUND Introduction
IntroductionIntroductionntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroducti
onIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntrodu
ction IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
The cathedral is a symbol of the man’s connection
with the blind man.
WORK BACKWARDS
I
GRAB ATTENTION
GIVE BACKGROUND
The cathedral is a symbol of the man’s
connection with the blind man.
What do we need to know to
understand this thesis?
GRAB ATTENTION
GIVE BACKGROUND
The cathedral is a symbol of the man’s
connection with the blind man.
What do we need to know to
understand this thesis?
The cathedral is a symbol of
the man’s connection with
the blind man.


To understand this thesis, we need to know that these are
characters in a story, who wrote the story, what it is called,
and what a cathedral has to do with it all.
Without that information, the blind man may be your
neighbor, and the cathedral may be an actual place! We
need to put it in literary context.
So, your revised introduction
may look like this:
IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionI
ntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIn
troductionIntr In Raymond Carver’s “The
Cathedral,” the narrator is a middle-aged
man who meets his wife’s friend for the first
time. The friend, Robert, is blind. The man
and the blind man have a difficult time
connecting throughout the story, until they
decide to draw a picture of a cathedral
together. The cathedral is a symbol of the
man’s connection with the blind man.
But, you still have to start the
paragraph by grabbing the
attention of your reader
GRAB ATTENTION
In Raymond Carver’s “The Cathedral,” the
narrator is a middle-aged man who meets his
wife’s friend for the first time. The friend,
Robert, is blind. The man and the blind man
have a difficult time connecting throughout
the story, until they decide to draw a picture
of a cathedral together. The cathedral is a
symbol of the man’s connection with the
blind man.
How do you make it
interesting?

Begin with a quote, a creative description, an
intriguing question, or a mini-discussion

The topic of the attention grabber should
relate to the concept of your thesis, but not
necessarily in a literary sense.
What concepts are in my
thesis?
GRAB ATTENTION
In Raymond Carver’s “The Cathedral,” the narrator is a
middle-aged man who meets his wife’s friend for the first
time. The friend, Robert, is blind. The man and the blind
man have a difficult time connecting throughout the story,
until they decide to draw a picture of a cathedral
together. The cathedral is a symbol of the man’s
connection with the blind man.
The
idea
of
being
blind
What concepts are in my
thesis?
The cathedral is a symbol of the
man’s connection with the
blind man.


The broader concepts may relate to symbolism in
general, to the idea of people connecting with one
another or feeling alone, to the concept of
blindness, or stereotypes that surround blindness.
We need to intrigue the reader by discussing
something they can relate to, but not getting too
off topic.
Some ideas to begin:
connection
We have all experienced a feeling of
loneliness. Sometimes it creeps up on us,
cold and hollow, even if we are in a room full
of people. It generates, not from our
surroundings, but from our inability to connect
with others—to feel as though they
understand us. At times, we are helpless
against this isolation, but other times, it is our
own fault.
Some ideas to begin:
symbolism
The objects around us are inanimate—just
things, sitting there, alone and unfeeling.
But, we are all able to put more meaning into
an object than it actually holds on its own: a
teddy bear may represent youth, a crinkled
paper as dreams of poetry, or a half-burned
candle the day of a wedding. When authors
endow objects in this sense, they are
considered symbols, and their analysis can
lead a reader to the larger concepts at hand.
Some ideas to begin:
blindness
Do blind people see when they dream? Or, is it
just a mixture of sounds, smells, and touch? The
question has pondered scientists for decades
and continues to intrigue even the casual
observer. Why? Because we all want to know
about things that are unusual, or different from
us, and blindness is one of those concepts that
can generate both fear and curiosity. At times,
our fear makes us distant and stereotypical in
our perspective of blindness, but other times our
curiosity takes hold, and we delve to make a
connection with the blind.
Once you have your parts:

Grab Attention
 Background
 Thesis
YOU NEED TO STRING THEM TOGETHER
WITH TRANSITIONS!
Example 1: connection
We have all experienced a feeling of loneliness.
Sometimes it creeps up on us, cold and hollow, even if we are
in a room full of people. It generates, not from our
surroundings, but from our inability to connect with others—to
feel as though they understand us. At times, we are helpless
against this isolation, but other times, it is our own fault. In
Raymond Carver’s “The Cathedral,” the narrator emerges as
one of those people who isolates himself from others due
to his inability to connect. He is a middle-aged man who
meets his wife’s friend for the first time. The friend, Robert, is
blind. The man and the blind man have a difficult time
connecting throughout the story, until they decide to draw a
picture of a cathedral together. Through this activity, the
narrator learns a valuable lesson about connecting with
others. The cathedral is a symbol of the man’s connection
with the blind man.
Example 2: symbolism
The objects around us are inanimate—just things, sitting
there, alone and unfeeling. But, we are all able to put more
meaning into an object than it actually holds on its own: a
teddy bear may represent youth, a crinkled paper as dreams
of poetry, or a half-burned candle the day of a wedding.
When authors endow objects in this sense, they are
considered symbols, and their analysis can lead a reader to
the larger concepts at hand. In Raymond Carver’s “The
Cathedral,” the object signified by the title of the story
becomes a symbolic object. In the story, the narrator is a
middle-aged man who meets his wife’s friend for the first time.
The friend, Robert, is blind. The man and the blind man have
a difficult time connecting until they decide to draw a picture of
a cathedral together. Aside from the physical purpose it
serves, the cathedral is a symbol of the man’s connection
with the blind man.
Example 3: blindness
Do blind people see when they dream? Or, is it just a
mixture of sounds, smells, and touch? The question has
pondered scientists for decades and continues to intrigue
even the casual observer. Why? Because we all want to
know about things that are unusual, or different from us, and
blindness is one of those concepts that can generate both
fear and curiosity. At times, our fear makes us distant and
stereotypical in our perspective of blindness, but other times
our curiosity takes hold, and we delve to make a connection
with the blind. In Raymond Carver’s “The Cathedral,” the
narrator is a middle-aged man who meets his wife’s friend for
the first time. The friend, Robert, is blind, and the narrator is
forced to confront both his fear of this unusual guest and
his curiosity. The man and the blind man have a difficult time
connecting throughout the story, until they decide to draw a
picture of a cathedral together. This event and the object it
entails are significant, as the cathedral is a symbol of the
man’s connection with the blind man.
How do I Choose?



Do not mislead your reader…
What is the most important concept to
highlight in your thesis?
Is your essay more about the idea of
connection, more about a symbol analysis, or
more of an analysis of stereotypes?
Remember
The larger concept in your introduction may be
a good thing to return to at the close of your
essay. Keep it in mind for your conclusion—
has it changed, developed, or grown?