1. Read the overview sheet and be ready to ask any questions you
Objective: I can write my introductory paragraph by writing a hook, Necessary information, and my claim on my essay Template.
Read the overview sheet and be
ready to ask any questions you
might have.

2. Your teacher has just given you an literary essay template
Your teacher has just given you an literary essay template. This will be considered the first draft of your essay.
Scan the document with your shoulder partner to see if you can answer the following:
1. How many paragraphs will you be
expected to write?
2. Where can you find information/
definitions on the template to help you?
3. Where will you write your first
paragraph that introduces your topic?
4. What are the three parts of your introductory paragraph?

3. Introductory paragraph:
Starts with a grabber/hook:
Startling statement, fact or statistic: Example: Across America, many children go hungry every day. In fact, 13 million kids go hungry every day. This is the subject of a memoir by Janus Houston…

4. Introductory paragraph:
Starts with a grabber/hook:
Use an anecdote or create a verbal picture for the reader:
Example:
Picture a child waiting for
her mother to get home at night from work so that she can eat. The child greets her at the door but is disappointed to find that her mother did not bring dinner. The memoir “Hungry Places” by Janus Houston deals with…

5. Introductory Paragraph:
Starts with a grabber/hook:
Asks a question:
Example:
How many children across
America go hungry each day?
If you read the memoir, “Hungry
Places” by Janus Houston, you
might think …

6. Introductory paragraph:
Necessary Information:
Includes:
Author’s full name
Title of the text involved in the essay
A brief summary of the text
Example:
In the memoir “Hungry Places,” Janus Houston relates a tale about a girl who receives love from her mother, but not much more. One night the protagonist in the story, Emma, is hungrily waiting for her mother to bring dinner, but dinner never arrives.

7. Introductory paragraph: Thesis/claim:
A thesis or claim is the position statement the essay needs to support.
It is found in the introduction (1st paragraph) of an essay and tells the reader the issue that will be addressed (what the essay is going to be about).
Your thesis/claim will be the last sentence of your introduction.

8. Introductory paragraph: Thesis/claim
Example:
In her memoir, Janus Houston does follow the advice that William Zinsser gives in his article “How to Write a Memoir.”

9. Introductory paragraph: Thesis or super-claim:
Example:
In her memoir, Janus Houston does not follow the recommendations given by William Zinsser in his article “How to Write a Memoir.”

10. Introductory paragraph: Thesis or claim:
Example:
In her memoir, Janus Houston does/does not follow the advice that William Zinsser gives in his article “How to Write a Memoir.” Or
In her memoir, Janus Houston follows only part of the advice that William Zinsser gives in his article “How to Write a Memoir.”

11. Introductory paragraph: Thesis/super-claim
Now write your own thesis/claim about your topic.

12. Work period: Quiet writing
Write your entire introductory paragraph.
Include:
A hook (sentences that grab your reader’s attention)
Necessary information (tell us the author’s full name, the title of the story/poem, and brief plot summary or introduction to the story)
Your thesis/claim that states your position

13. Homework:
Complete your introductory
paragraph at home tonight.