1. Paragraph 1: The Introduction
Catchy opening/Hook/Grab reader’s attention
Give a few brief sentences of summary about story/time/place
Last sentence of the introduction =THESIS
The one sentence that states what the entire will essay will prove – The premise or central argument
The most important sentence in the essay
Usually 3 pronged because in most cases you are asked to write a 5 paragraph essay (this essay is 2 pronged)

2. Hooks Begin with: A provocative question A startling statement
An anecdote
An interesting quotation
An intriguing definition

3. Question as Hook
How does an eight year old boy learn to live without family, friends and safe environment for months on end? This question is answered in the autobiography They Cage the Animals at Night.

4. Startling Statement as Hook
Most of the foster care systems that were in existence in the early 1950’s did nothing but cause heartache and grief for the innocent children who had to live there.

5. Quotation as Hook http://www.quoteland.com (click here)
One of the most difficult things everyone has to learn is that for your entire life you must keep fighting and adjusting if you hope to survive.
-George Allen
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. 
-Thomas Alva Ediso

6. Provocative Question as Hook
Did the foster care system really help or harm children in the early 1950’s?
Why would a parent/or parents place a child in a system that causes more harm than good?

7. An Intriguing Definition
Definition: Foster care means 24-hour substitute care for children placed away from their parents or guardians and for whom the State agency has placement and care responsibility.

8. Conclusion answers the “So what?” question
Why does this topic matter at all—to me, to society, etc.?
Draw a conclusion! Why did jennings michael Burch write his story?

9. You can also end with a hook:
A provocative question
A startling statement
An anecdote
An interesting quotation
An intriguing definition