Introduction Paragraphs

1. Introduction Paragraphs

2. The Role of Introductions • Your introduction and conclusion act as bridges that transport your readers from their own lives into the "place" of your analysis. • By providing an introduction that helps your readers make a transition between their own world and the issues you will be writing about, you give your readers the tools they need to get into your topic and care about what you are saying.

3. For Example • If your readers pick up your paper about education in the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, for example, they need a transition to help them leave behind the world of Sykesville, MD, network television, e-mail and to help them temporarily enter the world of nineteenth-century American slavery

4. Why bother writing a good introduction? • Your introduction is an important road map for the rest of your paper. Your introduction conveys a lot of information to your readers. You can let them know what your topic is, why it is important, and how you plan to proceed with your discussion. It should contain a thesis that will assert your main argument. • Ideally, your introduction will make your readers want to read your paper • The opening paragraph of your paper will provide your readers with their initial impressions of your argument, your writing style, and the overall quality of your work.

5. Strategies for Writing an Effective Introduction • Try writing your introduction last. • Don't be afraid to write a tentative introduction first and then change it later • an intriguing example (for example, the mistress who initially teaches Douglass but then ceases her instruction as she learns more about slavery) • a provocative quotation, (Douglass writes that "education and slavery were incompatible with each other")

6. Structure • Lead – engaging lead that connects your reader to your topic(s) • Transition – connects lead to thesis statement (connect to the work(s) you are writing about) • Thesis – last sentence of your introduction paragraph; states the argument of your paper (work + method + purpose)

7. Types of Introductions • Personal Experience/Narrative Introduction – relate some aspect of your own life to the story/characters/theme; this is the ONLY time you may use 1st person • Begin with a Quotation – it’s essential that the quote is pertinent to the subject to the subject/theme of the essay; identify the context of the quote, cite the quote, explain what it means AND how it connects to your thesis • Background about the Author or the Work – interesting details about the author’s life or the background of the work (you’ll have to do some research)

8. Example - Quote Anne Frank, a holocaust victim and author of The Diary of Anne Frank, once said, “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God” (Frank 613). Anne expresses her belief that nature is the never-ending cure for mankind when they are feeling down. She feels that when a person is alone with nature, it connects him/her with God.The healing power of nature is an idea prevalent in Frankenstein through the characters Victor, the monster, and Henry Clerval. Each of these characters escape to nature throughout the novel to seek refuge and delight in its intense rejuvenating power.In Shelley’s Frankenstein, imagery is used to show that nature creates a sense of security for mankind.

9. Types of Introductions (continued) • Discussion of a Literary Technique – identify and define the literary technique(s) to be discussed in the essay; explore the general use authors make of a particular literary element • Begin with an Allusion to another Art Form (music, film, television, painting, etc.) – make connections between the work under discussion and similar themes or motifs that are present in other art forms

10. What NOT to do • The Place Holder Introduction. • When you don't have much to say on a given topic, it is easy to create this kind of introduction. • Essentially, this kind of weaker introduction contains several sentences that are vague and don't really say much. They exist just to take up the "introduction space" in your paper. • If you had something more effective to say, you would probably say it, but in the meantime this paragraph is just a place holder.

11. What NOT to do (cont.) 2. The Restated Question Introduction. • Restating the question instead of offering a more effective, interesting introduction to your paper. • The teacher who assigned the essay wrote the question – he/she does not need to read a whole paragraph that simply restates the question. • Do something more interesting.

12. What NOT to do (cont.) 3. The Webster's Dictionary Introduction. • This introduction begins by giving the dictionary definition of one or more of the words in the assigned question. • anyone can look a word up in the dictionary and copy down what Webster says - it may be far more interesting for you (and your reader) if you develop your own definition of the term in the specific context of your class and assignment • Perhaps a quotation from a source reading might prove better? • Dictionary introductions are also ineffective simply because they are so overused.

13. What NOT to do (cont.) • The Dawn of Man Introduction. • This kind of introduction generally makes broad sweeping statements about the relevance of this topic since the beginning of time. • It is usually very general (similar to the place holder introduction) and fails to connect to the thesis. • You may write this kind of introduction when you don't have much to say--which is precisely why it is ineffective.

14. What NOT to do (cont.) 5. The Book Report Introduction. • This introduction is what you had to do for your fifth-grade book reports. It gives the name and author of the book you are writing about, tells what the book is about, and offers other basic facts about the book. • You might resort to this sort of introduction when you are trying to fill space because it's a familiar, comfortable format. • It is ineffective because it offers details that your reader already knows and that are irrelevant to the thesis.