Methods for Writing
the Introductory
Paragraph
Essay of Opinion
Lee Brandon’s, Paragraphs and Essays
Traditional Format
• Common Knowledge – General
information about your subject
• Central Idea – The core issue
relating to your general subject
• Thesis – Topic, position, and
reasons in one sentence.
Background
• Provide background
information on your subject.
• Grab the reader by giving them
the necessary information they
need to understand the
motivation for your thesis or
paper.
Background
In one four-year period in California
(1995-98), 15,363 people were injured and
5,954 were killed by drunk drivers. Each
year, the same kinds of figures come from
all our states. The state laws vary. The
federal government does virtually nothing.
Drunk driving has reached the point of
being a national problem. This slaughter of
innocent citizens should be stopped by
passing federal legislation with strong
provisions. (Reasons not included in the
thesis.)
Direct Statement of Thesis
• Open with an opinion related to
the issue that will be examined
in your paper. This opinion
should be broad.
• Begin to tighten your opinion ,
finally ending with your
specific position or thesis.
Direct Statement of Thesis
Anyone on the road in any city
near midnight on Friday and Saturday
is among dangerous people. They are
not the product of the witching hour;
they are the product of the “happy
hour.” They are called drunk drivers.
These threats to our lives and limbs
need to be controlled by federal laws
with strong provisions. (Reasons not
included)
Definition
• Define a key term or the issue.
You can use a dictionary
definition or be more creative.
• From the definition, you narrow
down to your position.
Definition
Here’s a recipe. Take two thousand
pounds of plastic, rubber, and steel, pour in
ten gallons of gas, and start the engine.
Then take one human being of two hundred
pounds of flesh, blood, and bones, pour in
two glasses of beer in one hour, and put him
or her behind the wheel. Mix the two
together, and the result may be a drunken
driver ready to cause death and destruction.
This problem can and should be controlled
by federal legislation and strong provisions.
Quotation
• Open with a quotation from an
authority, expert, or celebrity.
By beginning with a statement
from someone of importance,
you make your argument more
credible. You also are able to
grab the attention of the reader.
Quotation
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration has stated that 50 percent of
all fatal accidents involve intoxicated drivers
and that “75 percent of those drivers have a
Blood Alcohol Content of .10 percent or
greater.” That kind of information is widely
known, yet the damage on the highways
continues. This problem of drunk driving
should be addressed by a federal law with
strict provisions.
Shocking Statement & Question
• Open with a shocking statement.
• Follow-up the shocking
statement, with a question
connecting it to your thesis.
Shocking Statement & Question
Almost 60,000 Americans were killed in
Vietnam War. What other war kills more
than that number every four years? Give
up? It is the war with drunk drivers. The
war in Vietnam ended about three decades
ago, but our DUI war goes on, and the
drunks are winning. This deadly conflict
should be controlled by a federal law with
strong provisions.
Question & Definition
• Open with a question about the general
subject.
• Answer the question with a definition
• Possibly follow-up with another
question
• Address the question
• Connect the questions to the thesis –
the thesis should be your proposed
answer.
Question & Definition
What is a drunk driver? In California
it’s a person with a blood alcohol level of
.08 percent or more who is operating a
motor vehicle. What do those drivers do?
Some of them kill. Every year more than
16,000 people nationwide die. Those are
easy questions. The difficult one is, what
can be done? One answer is clear: Drunk
drivers should be controlled by federal laws
with strong provisions.
ASSIGNMENT
• Using at least two of these methods,
write two possible introductory
paragraphs. I will grade both. Based
on my comments, suggestions, and
corrections, you will then choose one
method and write a polished
introduction for your essay of opinion.