Use Figurative Language
Narrate a Personal
Experience
State Your Opinion
Use a Definition
Use a Quote
From a
Famous
Person
Ask a Question
????????
Make a Bold
Or Challenging
Statement

Make your writing a page turner!
The lead (beginning or introduction) establishes the direction your writing will take. A good lead grabs your reader's attention and refuses to let go. In other words, it hooks the reader .

Hooking a reader when you are writing an essay is just as important as a movie trailer is to the success of the movie.You want to give “a little bit” of the content, but you really want them to
“buy the ticket.” This presentation will introduce you to some types of introductions so that you can use them as your own when you write.

Your introduction should have at least 3 concise and clear sentences.
You should accomplish 3 things with your introduction:
 Get the reader’s attention

Present your topic and purpose

Connect with your audience

• Studies show that people who graduate from high school will earn at least $500,000 more in their lifetime than people who do not.
• Staying in school will determine whether or not you get the $500,000.

• This is an example of one way to hook your reader in the introduction: asking a question .
• You can ask a rhetorical question that draws the reader into wanting to read further to discover the answer to the question.
• Ask an interesting question that you will answer in your essay.

Use Questions to “Hook” Your
Reader!
Let’s Take a Closer
Look at Some Examples

“Acne, baldness, sterility. Sound attractive, fellas ?
Or ladies, how about a deep voice, facial hair, and kidney damage ?
All of these appealing attributes, along with many others, are side effects of using steroids, yet people continue to use them!"

Have you ever wondered how you would survive if you found yourself alone in the jungle ?
How would you defend yourself against predators ?
What would you eat ?
Where would you find water ?
Read Lord of the Flies to see just how a group of teenagers manage to survive!
Evaluative Writing

Dear Rodney,
Lamont ?
Come in Lamont. Lamont, are you there ?
Over. Rodney, I am just practicing for the Airforce. You will be dying to join after reading The U.S.
Airforce! Learn all about it.
Evaluative Writing

Writing an effective question to begin your introduction can help you organize your essay, because you have to be able to answer the question in a comprehensive manner.
For example:
Read the following list of questions about requiring students to wear uniforms in an effort to prevent students from wearing gang colors to school.

Individually jot down an answer to the following questions.
• Do you hate school uniforms?
• What will school uniforms do to student’s sense of individuality?
• Who stands to benefit from school uniforms?
• How could school uniforms prevent gang related issues in our school?

1.
Take a moment to share your responses to each question.
2.
Which question(s) bring out the most information and cause for discussion?
3.
Which question(s) bring out the least information?
4.
How were some questions more interesting than others?
5.
How did some questions bring out a strong reaction in you rather than a statement might have? Explain why.
6.
In your opinion, what question is most effective and why?

AVOID meaningless questions that don’t ask the reader to think critically; a question you don’t expect the reader to answer.
Examples of Meaningless Questions
• “Do you hate school uniforms? I do.”
• “Do you have a favorite season? Well I do.”
• “Have you ever wondered why people believe in school uniforms? Well, I’ll tell you.”

Another technique that writers use to engage the writer is to share a personal experience in the introduction .
Let’s Look at Some Examples

Use a Personal
Experience
I walked into the cold, white room on
April 23, 1992. The beeping of the machines echoed immensely in my head and I knew that noise would haunt me for the rest of my life. I walked in further to join my family that stood beside the bed. I hung my head in grief and through tears got one last look.

I bent over and gently whispered,
"Good-bye Grandma, I love you." It was then the nurse made the machines make a more painful sound; the sound of silence.
This is the act of euthanasia which is the hardest decision for a family to make when the choice is suffering in life or inflicting immediate death.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6…” It was my first basketball game and I had the ball with the clock ticking away. I was standing on top of the world. However, to get to that point, I had to go through pre-game jitters, the embarrassing shot, and the opponent’s hard stares. Yes, it takes determination to succeed.

Two Effective Techniques
Questions
-Narrate a personal experience
• In the steroid introduction, the writer involves the reader in his or her topic before it is even introduced using questions.
• In the euthanasia introduction, the writer is so pulled in by the details of the story that the reader already trusts the writer as a person.

For the following prompt, write an introduction using either a question or a personal experience.

Write 3 clear sentences
 Get the reader’s attention

Present your topic and purpose

Connect with your audience

• The superintendent of your school district is concerned about the recent incidents of school violence and wants to take positive steps in hopes of preventing further violence.
• He has created a task force consisting of teachers, parents, and students to address the issue, and you have been chosen to serve on the task force. He wants you to draw upon your own personal knowledge of the issue of violence among students at your school.
• Write a letter to the superintendent on how to eliminate school violence in our schools.

“Hooking the Reader”

WHAT PHRASE
IS THIS GREAT
CIVIL RIGHTS
LEADER MOST
FAMOUS FOR?

• Open with a quotation that is wellknown (but be sure to put quotation marks around it).
• You can also use a quotation from someone that is not famous. It could be from a song, movie, or one of your own.

• “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
–Benjamin Franklin
• “All that glitters is not gold.” – Shakespeare
Student Example:
John F. Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." I think today's Americans have forgotten Kennedy's message. We expect our country to take care of us, but we are not taking care of our country.

Brainstorm and create a class list of well known quotes, catchy phrases, and idioms to use in writing.

• Collect as many quotes as possible from your discussion.
• Arrange your quotes thematically and use examples in your next writing assignment
Note: Refer to websites on famous quotations

Use Figurative Language to Hook Your Reader
“ Time fly’s when you are having fun!”

Begin with a simile Comparison using
“like” or “as”
Begin with a metaphor Comparison stating one thing is another thing
Begin with personification Give non living objects human characteristics

Mississippi is the red-headed step-child of Hurricane Katrina. How do you ask? The loss of life and property in this gulf state have almost been completely forgotten by the rest of the country.


Tardies have overtaken our schools like cancer. (simile)
 Tardies have become the pimple on our school’s otherwise clear complexion. (metaphor)

The bell screams for the students to return to class but his calls are left unanswered. (personification)

• Tardies to class are disrupting instruction, leaving unfinished class work to be completed at home.
Although rules and consequences were set at the beginning of the year, students are still arriving late.
• Write a letter to your principal in which you suggest a solution to the problem of tardies to class.
Now, YOU write an introduction for this prompt using a quote or figurative language.

Write 3 clear sentences
 Get the reader’s attention

Present your topic and purpose

Connect with your audience

• Ask a Question
•
Share a Personal Experience
• Open with a quotation
•
Use figurative language

“Hooking the Reader”

The introductions in this section will deal with speaking your mind, making a bold statement to emphasize your position.

A bold and challenging statement is similar to an announcement, but is meant to cause some people to disagree with what you say. It's like one side of an argument. It can be an opinion, but don't immediately state that it is your opinion.
Example:
Using horses and cattle in the sport of rodeo is animal abuse. What makes it more aggravating is that it is legal.
According to the law, there is nothing wrong with chasing an animal down, tightening a rope around its neck, knocking it to the ground, and tying its legs together so it cannot move.

• Making a bold or strong statement can get the reader’s attention.
• Making a bold statement also sets the tone for your essay and establishes you as someone who has clear and concise thoughts .

"It's time we faced the facts of the matter.
They have been gassed, poisoned, starved and sterilized. Yet, they still thrive today in vast numbers and are multiplying at alarming rates. If we do not fight back, they could take over the world! I deeply regret to inform you the Orkin man did not accomplish his mission. I'm talking about cockroaches!"

Open with a definition of the term you are discussing and writing about.
It can be your own or come from a dictionary, textbook, or other source.
Example : According to Webster's Dictionary, government is defined as the authority that serves the people and acts on their behalf. How can the government know what the people want if the people do not vote? If we do not vote, the government may act on its own behalf instead of on the behalf of the people.

Come on, you guys do this all the time, right? So, instead of dancing around the topic, tell the reader what you think about it in the introduction.
Example
“There is no question cell phones should be allowed on campus.”

“In this essay…”
“I am going to tell you about…”
“I will write about…”
“The first reason is…”
“The second reason is…”

“In this essay…”
“I am going to tell you about…”
“I will write about…”
“The first reason is…”
“The second reason is…”

“In this essay…”
“I am going to tell you about…”
“I will write about…”
“The first reason is…”
“The second reason is…”

Hooking the Viewer = Hooking the Reader!

“In this essay…”
“I am going to tell you about…”
“I will write about…”
“The first reason is…”
“The second reason is…”

Take out all of your notes on introductions…
For the following writing prompts:

Write three different introductions.

Remember the rule of 3!
– Gain the reader’s attention
– Present your topic and purpose
– Connect with your audience
AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY,
REMEMBER THE THINGS TO
AVOID!

Compose a letter to a friend recommending that he or she reads your favorite book or movie. (evaluation)
Think of one way someone can help make a difference in conserving energy. The person may be a parent, friend, school official, city, state or base official. Write a letter to a person who can help solve a problem. Carefully describe the problem and your proposed solution. (problem solution)

Recently, your English teacher, Social Studies teacher, and
Science teacher have all assigned major reports or projects due at the same time. Each of these major assignments are required and you want to do a good job on each one, but you cannot do them all as scheduled.
Write a letter to your teachers or the principal, explaining the problem this situation presents for students and suggest ways the problem can be solved. Your suggested solution should be very specific, so that the readers of your letter will be able to see clearly how you think the problem can solved and how this solution would keep the problem from arising again.
(problem solution)

th
Read the following quotations about integrity, which is the firm adherence to a code of special moral or artistic values.
“Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.”
“Live like you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.”
“Havin'g integrity. . . means being completely true to what is inside you-to what you know is right. . . what you feel you must do, regardless of the immediate cost of sacrifice. . . to be honorable and to behave decently. .”
“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.”
(Definition)

Write a speech for your high school graduating class on the meaning of integrity . You may use the ideas presented above, your own experiences, observations, and/or readings.
As you write your speech remember to:

Focus on the meaning of integrity.

Consider the audience, purpose, and context of your speech.

Organize the ideas and details effectively.

Include specific examples that clearly develop your speech.
 Edit your speech for standard grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Write an article for your school newspaper about the meaning of individuality as it relates to being a member of a group.
You may use the following information, your own experiences, observations, and/or readings.
(definition)

• “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Carroll Lewis
• “My great mistake, the fault for which I can’t forgive myself, is that one day I ceased pursuit of my own individuality.” Oscar Wilde
• An individual's treatment and alternatives in life may depend as much on the reputation of the group to which that person belongs as on his or her own merit.
Catharine MacKinnon