Improving Our
Intros!
The End to Boring, Lame, and
Completely Unoriginal
Introductions for Papers in
English
Think of the Inverted
Triangle
• Attention
Getter
• Lead into
Thesis
• Thesis
Attention Getters
• Goal: Make your paper relevant to your
readers! Why should I invest my time in
reading what you have to say?
• Good ideas:
– Relevant example/connection to the real
world
– Allusion to another literary work
• Bad ideas (turns your reader off):
Questions, beginning with your thesis
Connections, Connections,
Connections!
Think of people, situations, examples that are
TEXT (to short story) to self, world, or text!
Those are ALWAYS great attention getters!
Examples & Anecdotes
Your AG can…
• Use an example or anecdote of
someone who learned from their
mistakes (A parent? A president? A
celebrity?)
• Use an example or anecdote of
someone who was judged and
stereotyped but was able to overcome
that persecution (A historical figure?)
• Use an example or anecdote of
someone that goes through a difficult
experience that changes the way they
see the world (A sibling? A friend?)
• Use an example or anecdote of
someone who matured as they got older
(A character in a movie?)
Example Introduction
Paragraph
At Oswego East High School, it is easy to feel isolated,
judged, and misunderstood. Many students go through their high
school careers feeling ambiguous about growing up.
This situation is similar for the character Jing-Mei in Amy Tan’s short
story, “Two Kinds” and Roger in Langston Hughes’s story “Thank You
Ma’am.” The stories describe two different adolescents struggling
with their identities. Both have to overcome obstacles and repair
relationships with people in order to move on in life.
Jing-mei and Roger share traits that, in the end, help them both learn
to become better people in the future.
Lead into Thesis
• Goal: Set up what your essay is about
• Good ideas:
– Set up your entire paper
• Novel and author should be stated
– Summarize the issue at hand
– Describe the issue
Example Introduction
Paragraph
Friends always help each other out but what if that help
involves euthanasia? In the book Of Mice and Men, by John
Steinbeck, two friends travel together while working on ranches.
George is left to take care of Lennie due to his mental disability
but in the end George has to kill him in order to protect
everyone from any further damage. For this reason George
makes a more humane decision by killing Lennie peacefully
because he is protecting Lennie from pain, protecting others
from harm, and protecting George from any more troubles.
Example Introduction
Paragraph
In the show “Everybody Hates Chris” teens develop a
common goal to annoy and bend rules of overly lenient authority
figures. The show displays how teens are not responsible for
their actions and fail to impress their older generation. This
relates to the character Jing-mei in “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan and
Roger from “Thank You Ma’am” by Langton Hughes because
each character is trying to find their way in the world but go
about it the wrong way. Jing-mei and Roger share negative
character traits but learn from their wrong doings in order to
repair relationships with authority figures.
Example Introduction
Paragraph
Many people will do anything for their friends even
when it involves hard decisions to help their friend. In the
novella Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, two friends travel
together and do a lot for each other. One is left with the hardest
decision to make for his friend, whether or not to his friend
should be euthanized. It is justified for George to euthanize
Lennie because Lennie would be locked up or killed, it is the
least painful way to die and Lennie kills a person.