Persuasive Writing:
Opening Paragraphs, Part I
©Kerry Tracy 2012
Opening Paragraphs

There are three parts in an opening
paragraph:
1. Create interest
(3-4 sentences to hook the reader)
2. Transition to the thesis statement
(1 sentence that blends the interest and the
thesis so your writing flows)
3. Thesis statement
(1 sentence that states your position and
reveals the three body paragraph subtopics)
Thesis Statements
 Thesis statement: A thesis statement is basically a topic
sentence for your entire essay. In a persuasive essay,
your thesis statement will state your position and list the
body paragraph subtopics.
 There are many ways in which to do this well. You do not
always have to follow exactly the same pattern as long as
you make sure your position was stated and the body
paragraph subtopics were listed.
Thesis Statements
Thesis statement example:
 Students should be required to join organized sports
teams because it makes them stay healthy, learn social
skills, and succeed academically.
 Stated position: Students should be required to join
organized sports teams
 Body paragraph subtopics: makes them stay healthy,
learn social skills, and succeed academically
Create Interest
 Once your thesis statement is done, it’s
time to decide how you will create
interest.
 You want to make the reader want to
keep reading your essay, so you need to
grab his/her attention in the first few
sentences. There are many ways to do
this, but we will focus on three:
interesting facts or statistics, ask
questions, or personal anecdote.
Create Interest
Interesting facts/statistics
 Do NOT make up a statistic! Ex. Don’t
say 75% of America’s children are
overweight if you don’t know that is true!
If you don’t know for sure, write in
general terms.
Create Interest
Create interest in an essay convincing teachers students
should be required to play organized sports:
Interesting facts/statistics
 It seems every day when you turn on the news, there are
stories about childhood obesity. Children are not getting
enough exercise. If this problem doesn’t turn around,
there will soon be a huge health crisis in America.
Create Interest
Ask questions
 Ask three questions related to your topic.
They should start differently (don’t ask
three questions that begin with “what”)
and may include one or more reader
concerns. You will have answer these
questions in the closing paragraph, so
keep that in mind.
Create Interest
Create interest in an essay convincing teachers
students should be required to play organized
sports:
Ask Questions
 What if every student in America was required
to play an organized sport? Would the time
take away from time to study and complete
homework? Could such a requirement have
unexpected benefits?
Create Interest
Personal anecdote
 This is a short story about you, but it’s
fine to make something up. Since you
only have three or four sentences, you
can tell part of the story in the opening
paragraph and the ending in the closing
paragraph.
Create Interest
Create interest in an essay convincing teachers that students
should be required to play organized sports:
Personal anecdote
 When I was in kindergarten, my mom asked me if I
wanted to play tee ball. In my mind, I heard “tea ball.” I
imagined dancing like Cinderella in a ball gown and
drinking tea like a proper lady. I had no idea what was in
store for me when I said, “Yes.”
Opening Paragraphs
 Now it’s your turn to practice!
Persuasive Writing:
Opening Paragraphs, Part II
©Kerry Tracy 2012
Opening Paragraphs

We have learned about two of the three
parts in an opening paragraph:
 Create interest
(3-4 sentences to hook the reader)
 Thesis statement
(1 sentence that states your position and
reveals the three body paragraph subtopics)
Opening Paragraphs
 Today we will learn about transition to
thesis statements.
Transition to Thesis
Transition to thesis statement
 You need a blending sentence to smooth
the transition from interest to thesis
statement in the opening paragraph.
 It should be a sentence that tells one
true thing about your broad topic. It can
express your opinion. Keep it short! You
don’t want to use details you’ll need later
in your body paragraphs.
Transition to Thesis
 Once you have created your interest and
your thesis statement, write them out
leaving a large space in between.
 Examples follow.
It seems every day when you turn on the
news, there are stories about childhood
obesity. Children are not getting enough
exercise. If this problem doesn’t turn around,
there will soon be a huge health crisis in
America.
Students should be required to join organized
sports teams because it makes them stay
healthy, learn social skills, and succeed
academically.
It seems every day when you turn on the
news, there are stories about childhood
obesity. Children are not getting enough
exercise. If this problem doesn’t turn around,
there will soon be a huge health crisis in
America.
There is something we can do to improve the
health of young people in this country.
Students should be required to join organized
sports teams because it makes them stay
healthy, learn social skills, and succeed
academically.
Opening Paragraphs
 It’s your turn to try it out!
What if every student in America was
required to play an organized sport? Would
the time take away from time to study and
complete homework? Could such a
requirement have unexpected benefits?
Students should be required to join organized
sports teams because it makes them stay
healthy, learn social skills, and succeed
academically.
What if every student in America was
required to play an organized sport? Would
the time take away from time to study and
complete homework? Could such a
requirement have unexpected benefits?
Many kids simply aren’t getting enough
exercise to stay healthy.
Students should be required to join organized
sports teams because it makes them stay
healthy, learn social skills, and succeed
academically.
When I was in kindergarten, my mom asked me if
I wanted to play tee ball. In my mind, I heard tea
ball. I imagined dancing like Cinderella in a ball gown
and drinking tea like a proper lady. I had no idea
what was in store for me when I said, “Yes.”
Students should be required to join organized
sports teams because it makes them stay
healthy, learn social skills, and succeed
academically.
When I was in kindergarten, my mom asked me
if I wanted to play tee ball. In my mind, I heard tea
ball. I imagined dancing like Cinderella in a ball gown
and drinking tea like a proper lady. I had no idea
what was in store for me when I said, “Yes.”
At that time, I couldn’t have known how
important tee ball and softball would become
in shaping who I am.
Students should be required to join organized
sports teams because it makes them stay
healthy, learn social skills, and succeed
academically.
Opening Paragraphs
 Now it’s your turn to practice!