How to Write an Introduction

1. How to Write an Introduction

2. Structure • Your introduction paragraph is structured like an upside down triangle • The information presented should be go from general to specific and end with your thesis statement • The reader should know exactly what your paper will be about

3. Hook and Focus To begin you introduction, you want to capture the reader’s interest! • Quote • Definition • Interesting fact • Anecdote (a brief, relevant story) Remember to focus your reader on the topic! • What is the broad topic of your paper?

4. Do not forget your ATG! Author Title Genre Huckleberry Finn is a picaresque (episodic), satirical, bildungsroman (novel of education or moral development), or boy’s tale.

5. You try! Create an ATG sentence!

6. Don’t Forget! Finally, you MUST end your introduction paragraph with your THESIS STATEMENT!

7. Writing is a complex sociocognitive process involving the construction of recorded messages on paper or on some other material, and, more recently, on a computer screen. The skills needed to write range from making the appropriate graphic marks, through utilizing the resources of the chosen language, to anticipating the reactions of the intended readers. The first skill area involves acquiring a writing system, which may be alphabetic (as in European languages) or nonalphabetic (as in many Asian languages). The second skill area requires selecting the appropriate grammar and vocabulary to form acceptable sentences and then arranging them in paragraphs. Third, writing involves thinking about the purpose of the text to be composed and about its possible effects on the intended readership. One important aspect of this last feature is the choice of a suitable style. Because of these characteristics, writing is not an innate natural ability like speaking but has to be acquired through years of training or schooling. (Swales and Feak, 1994, p. 34)

8. Ernest Hemingway said, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn” (Kaplan 372). Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in 1885, has been crowned the “Great American Novel” and is one of the most discussed books in schools across America. With Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain created two extremely interesting characters; even though Huck began as the most discussed character, Jim has become the central point of discussion and caused great commotion amongst modern critics. Critics began to concentrate on Jim in the 1950s; however, modern critics believe Jim is still a prevalent topic. Currently, there is wide range of both positive and negative feelings toward Twain’s depiction of Jim. The critics that support Twain’s characterization of Jim believe Twain created a positive character who possesses parental, nurturing, and compassionate qualities that allow him to educate Huck Finn and contradict African-American stereotypes while critics who view Jim as a negative character feel Jim is a representation of Blackface Minstrels with a submissive personality.