Write an Effective Introduction Tools and Tips

What I’ve heard It’s hard to write a good introduction for your essays.

What have you been taught? Make big sweeping statements. For example, people will write in response to a topic on madness, “Ever since the beginning of time madness has been a part of the human condition. Going all the way back to the Greeks, you find madness was a problem…”

What have you been taught? This doesn’t accomplish anything. It’s like a plane taxiing down the runway without taking off.

What have you been taught? To use the prompt and turn it inside out to use as your introduction.

What have you been taught? For example, if the prompt says to find an opening line at the beginning of a book and show how the author developed that idea throughout the novel, some will write,

What have you been taught? “Every author has a line at the beginning of their book that says it all, one line that is so important that it seems to have the whole story inside it, which makes it important, which is why it is at the beginning of the story because you just couldn’t begin without it…” You get the idea.

5 Common Strategies Make a controversial statement Ask a question Define your subject Compare your subject to something compelling Quote someone else

Strategy #1 Make a controversial statement. Example: A man can never achieve true greatness in life without the aid of his wife.

Strategy #2 Ask a question (or two, or three) Example: Can a husband ever achieve true success without the aid of his wife?

Strategy #3 Define your subject Example: Greatness, in terms of one’s life, is defined as “markedly superior in character or quality.”

Strategy #4 Comparing your subject to something compelling Example: Lady Macbeth could be compared to Hilary Clinton.

Strategy #5 Quote someone else “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” --Robert F. Kennedy

Sample Introductions Distribute: 1. Writing Effective Introductions 2. Introduction Evaluation Tool

Review Evaluation Tool I don’t want you to use the checklist feature; instead I want you to keep these elements of effective introductions in mind as you read and make notes on the exemplars.

Directions Read the Introduction Evaluation tool and review the key traits and strategies of an effective introduction.

Directions—See handout Read all four introductions, annotating what each does effectively. Choose the one you think is most effective and explain why you think it is so compelling. Identify specific strategies the student used in the paragraph.

Now you try Write a sample introduction about a recurring theme in Macbeth. Must be at least six sentences long.