Writing Introductions II
Effective Strategies
Writing Center Tutorial
1. Providing Relevant Historical Context
After the Brady Bill was passed in 1993, background checks became mandatory
for most handgun purchases. Many proponents of gun control predicted that the
gun murder rate in America would drop as a result, but twenty years later, that
rate has not gone down.
2.Beginning with a Surprising Fact/Statistic
The gun murder rate in America is more than ten times the rate in France and
more than seventy times the rate in the UK.
3. Reviewing a Controversy
Constitutional scholars are divided in their opinions on handgun ownership. Some
believe that the Second Amendment guarantees private citizens’ rights to own
weapons while others say that the Constitution protects this right only for
members of a “well-regulated militia.”
4.Opening with a Quotation
In a recently-televised concert, comedian Chris Rock joked that instead of gun
control, what we need is bullet control. “I think all bullets should cost five
thousand dollars,” he said, “‘cause if a bullet cost five thousand dollars, there
would be no more innocent bystanders.”
More Strategies that Can Work Well

Telling a relevant anecdote. (James Brady only became a strong advocate for
gun control after taking a bullet intended for President Reagan. On March 30,
1981,…)

Posing a relevant hypothetical question. (We often tell children that fighting
solves nothing, but the truth is, children are constantly exposed to violent
images through the video games they play and the TV shows and movies they
watch. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that some of these kids grow up to
commit vicious and brutal crimes. Would they be any less prone to violence,
though, if we removed this kind of imagery from their young lives?)

Beginning with the thesis:
Additional gun control measures would do nothing to prevent or curtail violent
crime in America. They would only prevent law-abiding citizens from having
access to protections from criminals.
Unless we adopt stricter gun control measures, as most European countries have
already done, we will never see any meaningful reduction in gun violence in the
United States.
Mix Two or More Strategies

Begin with an anecdote that leads to a hypothetical question.

Give a surprising statistic before providing some historical context that
explains that statistic.

Offer a quotation that relates to a controversy, which you then explain in
detail.

Begin with a thesis, but then tell an anecdote that relates to the thesis.
Questions?
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