Introduction Paragraph: The FIRST THING anyone reads!
Start it off right! HOOK the reader! Use one of FOUR LEADS…
1. LIST LEAD: List out provocative facts that you found in your research.
For example, 1 in 3 students will experience it. 160,000 students skip school each day
because of it. 70% of students have seen it in school. Cyberbullying on Twitter affects
everyone.
2. ANECDOTAL LEAD: Tell a story from one of the articles you read.
For example, she ate under the stairs with her hair covering her face. She pretended to
text a friend. Students walked by whispering. She knew they were talking about
her…again. She tried to casually pull her shirt down to make sure her stomach wasn’t
showing. She went on her Twitter account to make sure no one had taken another sneak
picture of her with her fat rolls showing. Cyberbullying on Twitter affects everyone.
3. PROVOCATIVE LEAD: Start off with a shocking statement that shows your opinion.
For example, 9 in 10 students who have seen cyber bullying on social media ignore the
behavior. That is worse than being a bully.
4. QUESTION LEAD: Ask a rhetorical question…one that can’t have a simple answer. BE
CAREFUL with this type of lead…if your reader doesn’t care about the question, they
won’t read the rest of the research paper.
For example, “How many students have to commit suicide before we put a stop to cyber
bullying?”
Then, move on to a definition of social media.
(Read the Jewish Action article’s definition. You can use that, or another one you found…)
For example, social media is a recent phenomenon; “Anyone with a smartphone or computer
and ‘followers’ or ‘friends’ on a social network can easily spread his ideas” (Hamelech 2).
Next, add your opinion on the phenomenon that is social media.
For example, this is one of the most powerful tools that any generation has experienced. With
power comes great responsibility. Words can hurt, but words in print can permanently hurt.
Finally, write your THESIS statement!
MAKE SURE it has your TOPIC and OPINION about the topic. (Social media builds or destroys
society.)
For example, Twitter is used to kill teenagers by allowing cyber bullying to happen.
1 in 3 students will experience it. 160,000 students skip school each day because of it. 70% of
students have seen it in school. Cyberbullying on Twitter affects everyone. Social media is a
recent phenomenon; “Anyone with a smartphone or computer and ‘followers’ or ‘friends’ on a
social network can easily spread his ideas” (Hamelech 2). This is one of the most powerful tools
that any generation has experienced. With power comes great responsibility. Words can hurt, but
words in print can permanently hurt. Twitter destroys teenagers by allowing cyber bullying to
happen.