Feb 10, 2009 – WRITING - Introductions
NAME: ______________________
Read the two introductions below. Both introductions are to an essay about the effects of love. Which
introduction makes you want to read the rest of the essay more? Write 3+ sentences explaining your
choice:
Introduction A:
Love has a huge number of effects. Webster’s College Dictionary defines love as a noun meaning “a
strong or warm personal attachment,” or as “a strong emotion of attraction and care towards another person.”
Love has many effects on our lives. Webster’s Dictionary cannot even begin to explain all of these effects
because there are too many to ever be counted. In this essay, I also cannot explain all the effects of love, but
keep reading on and I will tell you some of the most important effects of love that you will see in the world.
The three most important effects of love are that it causes gossip, it affects people’s popularity, and it affects
people’s sense of who they are.
Introduction B:
“Hey, did you hear what happened between Tieed and his girl this weekend?” whispered two girls in the
corner of the classroom. Immediately, I knew they were talking about love and romance, two of the most
popular topics of discussion around Southeast High School. Whether it is teenagers in school, adults on soap
operas, or old couples at the supermarket, love surrounds us every day. It is a powerful emotion which has
enormous effects on our lives – effects far more significant than gossip. From a teenage perspective, some of
the most important effects of love are that it causes gossip, it affects people’s popularity, and it affects people’s
sense of who they are.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Have you ever picked up a book, read the first page, then tossed it away because it seemed boring? As you can
see from the introductions, people will do the same thing to your essays, unless you grab your reader’s
attention with something that makes them want to keep reading past the first sentence.
PARTS OF THE INTRODUCTION
(1) __________________________________________________________________________________
How? Option A:
Option B:
Option C:
(2) __________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
(3) __________________________________________________________________________________
PRACTICE IDENTIFYING THE PARTS OF AN INTRODUCTION (ESSAYS ON THE EFFECTS OF LOVE)
Directions: For the paragraphs below:
(1) Put brackets [like this] around the attention grabber
(2) Put a squiggly line under sentences that establish significance
(3) Put a straight line under the sentence(s) that are the thesis
(1) Example Introduction #1
“Honey, I just don’t think we belong together anymore…” I held the phone against my ear, disbelieving
the words I had just heard. I was waiting for Marcus to say, “Just kidding! April Fools!” but there was only
silence. Suddenly, my hand began to shake and the phone dropped to the floor. I had never felt such pain as
that evening or the many months that followed. I wish someone had told me sooner how much love can hurt.
Like me, most teens have no idea what they are getting into when they start a relationship. Before I ever fell in
love, I only thought of the wonderful effects of love, like butterflies in your stomach and having someone to
praise you. My relationship with Marcus showed me that many of the effects of love are actually negative.
Some of the common negative effects of love, which teens should be prepared to face are the pain of heartbreak,
loss of individuality, and isolation from friends.
Type of Attention Grabber (circle one!): statistic/fact
quote
anecdote
(2) Example Introduction #2
Lao Tzu once said, “Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage." So often, in books or movies,
we see love transform ordinary people into courageous heroes, just as Lao Tzu suggests. It happens throughout
the world and throughout history, and it is only one of love’s many effects. Strangely most of us never stop to
consider the fact that love has such incredible effects. If we did, perhaps more of us would strive to find love
and fight to keep it. In fact, love is one of the most powerful forces in the universe, and it has many positive
effects including bringing people happiness, making people selfless, and giving people courage.
Type of Attention Grabber (circle one!): statistic/fact
quote
anecdote
(3) Example Introduction #3:
Married men are half as likely to commit suicide as women and have a much lower likelihood of dying
early than single men. Few people realize this shocking advantage of marriage and of love. We rarely stop to
consider that it is such a strong emotion that it could actually save our lives, despite the fact that every song on
the radio and every movie in cinemas seems to be about love! In fact, love has many effects that people often
overlook, some of which are positive and some of which are negative. The most important effects of love
include its incredible ability to help people become themselves, to motivate people to work hard for success,
and to make people act kindly towards others.
Type of Attention Grabber (circle one!): statistic/fact
quote
anecdote
(4) Introduction Example #4
Carl S. Avery once said, “Love enables you to put your deepest feelings and fears in the palm of you partner's
hand, knowing they will be handled with care.” Every day, you can look around and see people trusting their secrets, their
feelings, and even a part of their souls into the hands of their loved ones, believing that these important pieces of
themselves will be kept safe. However, just as often we see that this trust is unfounded, easily broken, and sorely
misplaced. So often people think only about the flowery, beautiful side of love, but books, movies, and even experience
with our own and friends’ relationships are full of examples showing what can happen when love goes wrong. When trust
is broken, and love is lost, lovers can become enemies, generally happy people can become bitter and angry, and people
may have difficulty ever trusting anyone else again.
Type of Attention Grabber (circle one!):
statistic/fact
quote
anecdote
(5) Introduction Example #5
I never thought that I would fall in love. I was always the shy girl who stood on the side lines as all of my friends
found boyfriends, went on dates, and fell in love. Then I met Justin. He has changed my life, my world, and me. Where
before I was shy and soft-spoken, now I look the world in the face and speak proudly. Across the nation, and even the
world, you can see how love is transforming people like me every day. Whether it is in books, movies, music, or simply in
every day life, if you just look around you can see the amazingly powerful effects of love. Because they have love in their
hearts, people can become more confident, more courageous, and even more sensitive to other people’s feelings.
Type of Attention Grabber (circle one!):
statistic/fact
Which of the introductions above was your favorite? Why?
quote
anecdote