The%20Introductory%20Paragraph

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The Introductory Paragraph

• Northwestern High School
• English Language Arts 9
• Mrs. Avery

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The Way an Essay Looks

• There are five parts to a standard essay/ECR
• Introduction
• Body Paragraph 1
• Body Paragraph 2
• Body Paragraph 3
• Conclusion

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The Introductory Paragraph

• Before you write, ask yourself these 2 questions
• What is your stance on the debatable topic?
• Are you for or against?
• Who will read your writing?
• What do you know about your audience?
  Geographics, race, culture, beliefs, etc

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The Introductory Paragraph has 2 main parts

• The Grabber
• The Thesis
• But it also has a small part
• The filler sentences!

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The Grabber!

• There are many ways to write a topic sentence,
  but lets focus on three!
• Asking a question and providing the answer!
• Using an anecdote (short story)

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What is a thesis statement?

• A thesis statement is a statement that tells the
  main idea of your paper to the reader
• Your thesis tells the reader what point you are
  going to make about your topic.
• Usually, the thesis statement is found at the end
  of the first paragraph in an essay

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Why must thesis statements have 3 points?!

• The thesis must have 3 main points because those
  3 points become the 3 body paragraphs of your
  essay

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A good way to write a thesis is

• Two parts of a thesis
• ANSWER
• Thesis Phrase
• Students should not be forced to go to a
  segregated school .because 1__________,
  2_________, and 3____________.

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What are filler sentences?

• Filler sentences are sentences that connect your
  grabber to your thesis statement.
• Usually, there are 2-3 filler sentences.
• They move the reader from the instant grabber
  to the main point in the thesis

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Why are they important?

• Filler sentences are about the topic youre
  writing about
• Restating the question
• Quote
• Facts/Statistics
• They provide a transition from the excitement of
  the grabber to the seriousness of the thesis
  statement.

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So an introductory paragraph looks like this

• ________ Grabber!
• __________ Filler Sentences
• _______ Thesis Statement

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The COMPLETE Intro

• Grabber
• Restate the question
• Quote
• Facts
• Thesis
• (Answer three reasons)

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Question What important changes does
Northwestern High School need?

• Introduction Can you imagine what it would be
  like to walk into school everyday, knowing that
  your peers are excited about learning, and that
  your school has the proper resources to support
  them? Thats what could happen if Northwestern
  made some important changes. Students today need
  an environment that supports their needs, and
  makes them feel like they are valued members of
  the student body. To ensure optimal learning,
  schools should try their best to accommodate the
  interests of the students. For many high school
  students, school is where they spend most of
  their day, and because of that, they want to
  enjoy the space they occupy for four years.
  Northwestern High School needs to improve the
  school atmosphere in order to create student
  morale, shorter class periods, and more diverse
  extracurricular activities.

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You try! Find the Grabber, the Filler, and the
Thesis Statement!

• A recent survey reported that employers consider
  communication skills more critical to success
  than technical skills. Employees can learn
  technical skills on the job and practice them
  every day. But they need to bring well-developed
  communication skills to the job. They need to be
  able to make themselves understood to colleagues,
  both in speech and in writing. They need to be
  able to work cooperatively as part of a team.
  Employers cant take time to teach communication
  skills, but without them an employee will have a
  hard time.

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Did it look like this?!

• A recent survey reported that employers consider
  communication skills more critical to success
  than technical skills. Employees can learn
  technical skills on the job and practice them
  every day. But they need to bring well-developed
  communication skills to the job. They need to be
  able to make themselves understood to colleagues,
  both in speech and in writing. They need to be
  able to work cooperatively as part of a team.
  Employers cant take time to teach communication
  skills, but without them an employee will have a
  hard time. ????

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• Some of the parents at your school have started a
  campaign to limit the homework that teachers can
  assign to students. Teachers at your school have
  argued that the homework is necessary. Should
  teachers assign less homework?

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Think about it and Write!

• Recently, a group of students from another high
  school were caught writing a derogatory word on
  the bathroom stalls. The newspapers have begun
  writing stories about how this incident is a
  rare, heartbreaking occurrence of racism, but
  that it isnt a common issue and should not be
  overly exaggerated. However, some of your
  classmates are having arguments in disagreement
  of this opinion. Does racism still exist today?