INTRODUCTIONS PRESENTATION TRANSCRIPT EN 090 Herzing University Online Welcome to this EN 090 presentation at Herzing University Online. Knowing how to write a great introduction will show right off that bat that your writing is to be taken seriously. * As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. This saying holds true with introductions. Your introduction is your reader’s first impression of your essay. If the introduction falls flat, there is a good chance that the reader will not continue reading. However, if your introduction grabs the reader’s attention, he or she will most likely continue reading your essay. * So let’s talk about the defining characteristics of an introduction. The introduction is the first paragraph of your essay. As such, it sets the tone for your entire essay. It also includes the most important sentence in your essay: the thesis statement. The thesis statement with essay map will be the last sentence of your introduction. As we have learned, all paragraphs must have five to eight sentences. If the thesis statement is the last sentence of the introduction, what will be included in the first four to seven sentences of the introduction? Unlike almost every other type of paragraph you will write for this class, the introduction does not begin with a topic sentence, in the sense that body paragraphs do. Although the introductory paragraph does not begin with a topic sentence, it still needs to begin in a way that will engage the reader and make him or her want to continue reading. * This is where the types of introductions come in. They are sometimes called lead-­‐ins because that is exactly what they do: lead into the point of your essay. There are several types of introductions. We will discuss the five most common types. a.
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* Quotation Question Definition Story Statement of problem or issue Quotation With this type of introduction, you begin with a quotation and go from there. There are several things to keep in mind with a quotation lead in. •
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The quote must be directly related to your topic. You must include the source of the quote. The quote should be no longer than one or two sentences. Common errors with quotation lead-­‐ins: •
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Do not select a quote just because you like it. It may be a very good quote, but if it does not directly relate to your topic, it will only confuse and/or distract the reader. Do not select a long quote. Remember that your paragraphs should be between five to eight sentences. A paragraph that is almost entirely someone else’s quotation is not a well-­‐written paragraph. Do not fail to provide the source of the quotation. Also, do not guess about the source of the quotation. No matter how fitting the quote may be, you cannot use it if you are not 100% sure of the source. This means no “someone once said” quotations. * Here is an example of a potential quote for my student success paper. “Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do best.” At this point, I have the quotation lead-­‐in and my thesis statement with essay map ready to go, but I need to add at least two more sentences to have a five to eight sentence paragraph. Generally, what I’ll do is give just a little more background and “introduce” the topic: * Here is my introduction: Famous educator Marva Collins said “Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do best.” This is true of every student who has ever taken a class. The key is to make the habits of successful students your habits as well. The more a student focuses on his or her work and classroom requirements, the more successful he or she will be. Focused students can easily achieve success by completing the required reading, posting work on time, and asking questions before assignments are due. As you can see, the quote, in yellow, begins the passage, and the thesis statement, in blue, ends it – and between the two I have added information about my topic. * The second type of introduction is the question introduction. With this type of introduction, you begin with a question and go from there. There are several things to keep in mind with this type of lead-­‐in. •
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Make sure it is a valid question. Make sure it is a single question. Make sure it is a question directly related to your topic. Common errors with question lead-­‐ins •
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Don’t ask questions that require little or no thought. Don’t ask multiple questions. This can easily annoy the reader. Additionally, we write essays to inform, persuade or entertain. We don’t write essays to pose a series of questions. Don’t ask questions that do not directly pertain to your topic. * I have selected this question as my lead-­‐in: Have you ever wondered why some students seem to breeze through classes while others constantly struggle? So my introduction will look like this: * Have you ever wondered why some students seem to breeze through classes while others constantly struggle? Certain students actually enjoy their classes and their attitude towards education is reflected in their grades. These students rarely seem stressed and are often able to help their classmates. Their work ethic is the key. Focused students can easily achieve success by completing the required reading, posting work on time, and asking questions before assignments are due. You can see the question lead-­‐in in yellow and the thesis statement in blue. Also, notice that I was able to change the information within the paragraph to suit the new lead-­‐in, but still introduce and provide some context for the topic. * The next type of introduction to consider is the introduction with the definition lead-­‐in. With this type of introduction, you define a key term from your paper. However, this does not mean you use a definition from a dictionary; you create a definition. There are several things to keep in mind with this type of lead-­‐in. •
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Make sure the definition is interesting. Make sure the definition directly relates to your topic. Make sure the definition is not a simple dictionary definition. Common errors with this type of lead-­‐in •
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Simple definitions that add nothing to your paper should be avoided. An example would be “student is defined as someone who attends school.” That is a rather boring definition. Do not use definitions that do not directly relate to your topic. Do not create definitions that do not make sense. This will only confuse/distract/annoy the reader. Do not use dictionary definitions. The only time you should define a term is when it is a term your readers will most likely not know. In any case, you should not use a dictionary definition as your lead-­‐in. * Here is an example of a definition for a definition lead-­‐in. Student success is defined as happily completing classes with good grades and an overall understanding of the material. Here is the definition with the introduction: * Student success is defined as happily completing classes with good grades and an overall understanding of the material. Some students never get the chance to experience student success. They may not enjoy their classes, earn good grades or develop an understanding of the material. However, many students achieve this level of success because they followed basic rules. Focused students can easily achieve success by completing the required reading, posting work on time, and asking questions before assignments are due. * A story lead in will set up your introduction with a story or anecdote. There are several things to keep in mind with this type of lead-­‐in: •
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Make sure the story directly relates to your topic. Make sure the story is brief. You only have five to eight sentences for your introduction. Since the thesis statement is the last sentence, your story cannot be longer than four to seven sentences. If you tell a story about someone else, you must have their permission to use their information in your essay. Common errors with this type of lead-­‐in •
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Do not tell a story that does not directly relate to your topic. Do not tell more than one story. Do not tell a long, drawn out story that will bore the reader. Do not tell a story about someone else where you divulge their personal information. You must have a person’s permission to include them in your story. * Here’s an example of a story lead in: Walking down the halls of their university, Samantha is grinning from ear to ear because she knows she just passed her English exam; however, Tim looks worried. “What’s wrong?” Samantha asks. “I think I just failed English,” Tim groans. “What’s your secret, Samantha? You pass every class with ease.” “I study, hand in all my work and ask questions when I don’t understand,” Samantha replied. Students like Samantha are happy because they understand the three rules of student success. Focused students can easily achieve success by completing the required reading, posting work on time, and asking questions before assignments are due. Note that the story is in yellow and the thesis in blue. All I needed to do after that is provide one sentence of context before the thesis. The last type of introduction lead-­‐in we’ll deal with is the “statement of problem or issue.” This is when you simply state the problem or issue at hand. There are several things to keep in mind with this type of lead-­‐in. •
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Try to make the statement of the issue detailed or descriptive. Make sure the problem or issue you state is the same problem or issue you will discuss. Common errors with this type of lead-­‐in •
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Do not bore the reader with a dry statement of the problem or issue. An example is “Some students are successful in class.” That is a rather boring statement that will not serve to engage the reader. Do not simply announce the problem or issue. Remember that announcements have no place in an essay. * Here is an example of a lead-­‐in that is a statement of the problem: Some students seem to breeze through their classes while others clearly struggle. To complete the paragraph, I will add more details that define the general differences between successful and struggling students: * Some students seem to breeze through their classes while others clearly struggle. The students who breeze through a class with minimal problems have a clear focus and a strong understanding of what is necessary for success. There is a noticeable difference between these students and students who struggle. The students who struggle through a class run the risk of failing the class because they also fail to adhere to three simple steps that guarantee success. Focused students can easily achieve success by completing the required reading, posting work on time, and asking questions before assignments are due. * The assignment this week will be to create an introduction for your final paper. Before we wrap up this presentation, here are some things to keep in mind about introductions: Make sure your introduction is no less than five complete sentences. Make sure your introduction is no more than eight complete sentences. Make sure your introduction includes your thesis statement with essay map as the last sentence. Make sure your introduction uses an effective lead-­‐in. Finally, when providing extra information to the paragraph to provide context, keep the language general. Do not get too far into the details of your topic. You want to provide an overview in the intro – not the specifics. * Thank you for watching this EN 090 presentation on introductions.