Methods for Writing the Introductory Paragraph

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Methods for Writingthe IntroductoryParagraph

• Essay of Opinion
• Lee Brandons, Paragraphs and Essays

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Traditional Format

• Common Knowledge General information about your
  subject
• Central Idea The core issue relating to your
  general subject
• Thesis Topic, position, and reasons in one
  sentence.

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Background

• Provide background information on your subject.
• Grab the reader by giving them the necessary
  information they need to understand the
  motivation for your thesis or paper.

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Background

• In one four-year period in California
  (1995-98), 15,363 people were injured and 5,954
  were killed by drunk drivers. Each year, the
  same kinds of figures come from all our states.
  The state laws vary. The federal government does
  virtually nothing. Drunk driving has reached the
  point of being a national problem. This
  slaughter of innocent citizens should be stopped
  by passing federal legislation with strong
  provisions. (Reasons not included in the thesis.)

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Direct Statement of Thesis

• Open with an opinion related to the issue that
  will be examined in your paper. This opinion
  should be broad.
• Begin to tighten your opinion , finally ending
  with your specific position or thesis.

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Direct Statement of Thesis

• Anyone on the road in any city near midnight
  on Friday and Saturday is among dangerous people.
  They are not the product of the witching hour
  they are the product of the happy hour. They
  are called drunk drivers. These threats to our
  lives and limbs need to be controlled by federal
  laws with strong provisions. (Reasons not
  included)

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Definition

• Define a key term or the issue. You can use a
  dictionary definition or be more creative.
• From the definition, you narrow down to your
  position.

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Definition

• Heres a recipe. Take two thousand pounds of
  plastic, rubber, and steel, pour in ten gallons
  of gas, and start the engine. Then take one
  human being of two hundred pounds of flesh,
  blood, and bones, pour in two glasses of beer in
  one hour, and put him or her behind the wheel.
  Mix the two together, and the result may be a
  drunken driver ready to cause death and
  destruction. This problem can and should be
  controlled by federal legislation and strong
  provisions.

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Quotation

• Open with a quotation from an authority, expert,
  or celebrity. By beginning with a statement from
  someone of importance, you make your argument
  more credible. You also are able to grab the
  attention of the reader.

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Quotation

• The National Highway Traffic Safety
  Administration has stated that 50 percent of all
  fatal accidents involve intoxicated drivers and
  that 75 percent of those drivers have a Blood
  Alcohol Content of .10 percent or greater. That
  kind of information is widely known, yet the
  damage on the highways continues. This problem
  of drunk driving should be addressed by a federal
  law with strict provisions.

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Shocking Statement Question

• Open with a shocking statement.
• Follow-up the shocking statement, with a question
  connecting it to your thesis.

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Shocking Statement Question

• Almost 60,000 Americans were killed in Vietnam
  War. What other war kills more than that number
  every four years? Give up? It is the war with
  drunk drivers. The war in Vietnam ended about
  three decades ago, but our DUI war goes on, and
  the drunks are winning. This deadly conflict
  should be controlled by a federal law with strong
  provisions.

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Question Definition

• Open with a question about the general subject.
• Answer the question with a definition
• Possibly follow-up with another question
• Address the question
• Connect the questions to the thesis the thesis
  should be your proposed answer.

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Question Definition

• What is a drunk driver? In California its a
  person with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent
  or more who is operating a motor vehicle. What
  do those drivers do? Some of them kill. Every
  year more than 16,000 people nationwide die.
  Those are easy questions. The difficult one is,
  what can be done? One answer is clear Drunk
  drivers should be controlled by federal laws with
  strong provisions.

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ASSIGNMENT

• Using at least two of these methods, write two
  possible introductory paragraphs. I will grade
  both. Based on my comments, suggestions, and
  corrections, you will then choose one method and
  write a polished introduction for your essay of
  opinion.