1. Aim of the Introduction 1. Hook the reader’s interest in the general theme of your essay. 2. State the topic and specific point of your essay in the thesis.

2. Step 1: Select a hook question a personal story a comparison a hypothesis a quotation

3. Step 2: Identify a general theme of your essay: Goals and dreams Being true to oneself Self- respect honesty Work ethic Personal responsibility

4. What happens when a talented and independent high school student with a dream of academic success gets pregnant before graduating? If she has the baby, can she still pursue her academic dream, or is she doomed to disappointment? In the story “Christine’s Dilemma,” several characters affect Christine and undermine her academic pursuits. However, despite these people’s roles in her life, it seems that without Christine’s and David’s serious mistake in conceiving a child when she was 16, she would not have had the troubles that came later. Start with a question

5. My best friend in high school was the best dancer I had ever seen. She had dreams of attending Julliard for dance and entering the ballet. But she placed this dream on hold when she foolishly became pregnant. The baby’s father wanted nothing to do with the child, and she was forced to surrender her dream for the sake of raising the child. I think of this sad story when I read “Christine’s Dilemma.” Start with a personal story

6. Getting pregnant at sixteen is like swallowing an elephant: Everybody watches your stomach grow as though you are a circus freak. All eyes fall upon you at every instant no matter where you go. I should know; I became pregnant when I was sixteen years old just like Christine in the story “Christine’s Dilemma.” But unlike Christine, I was lost and didn’t know what I wanted out of life. Christine, on the other hand, is a 16-year-old high school student who establishes her dream of becoming a lawyer, and she starts on a solid road to success that earns her praise from her high school teachers and administrators. She is on the college track, but her academic journey is derailed when she gets pregnant. Start with a comparison

7. Imagine being a 16-year-old high school girl who suddenly discovered she’s pregnant. Picture the emotions that would rage deep inside. They would include fear, confusion, and perhaps even guilt for not having safer sex. Not only were certain lines crossed, but also personal dreams will have to be placed on hold, and life will never be the same again. Christine was someone who experienced this. Start with a hypothesis (what if… Imagine that…)

8. As the saying goes, “I am the architect of my own destiny.” This poetic quotation suggests that each of us must learn both how to set goals for ourselves and how to pursue and reach those goals. Obviously, when we are young, we don’t yet know what are realistic goals for us to pursue, but as we grow, we learn our possibilities. For teens, there are two major obstacles we must face: First, we need to make our dreams realistic, and secondly, we need to make the right choices in the pursuit of that one special dream. In the story, “Christine’s Dilemma,” several characters are involved in the initial failure of Christine to pursue and reach her dream to become an attorney. Start with a quotation

9. Due to their unwise actions, Christine and David are the two most responsible persons for her dilemma, and her parents and Edward, the man she ends up marrying, are not the responsible parties. Step 3: In the thesis, state the topic and specific point of your essay.

10. My best friend in high school was the best dancer I had ever seen. She had dreams of attending Julliard for dance and entering the ballet. But she placed this dream on hold when she foolishly became pregnant. The baby’s father wanted nothing to do with the child, and she was forced to surrender her dream for the sake of raising the child. I think of this sad story when I read “Christine’s Dilemma.” Due to their unwise actions, Christine and David are the two most responsible persons for her dilemma, and her parents and Edward, the man she ends up marrying, are not the responsible parties.