English Language Department 2016

Four Ways to write an Engaging Introduction

The introduction or lead paragraph of the feature article should engage the reader.
It sets the tone and theme for the piece. Here are four strong techniques to help
you to develop an more engaging introduction.
1. Use an Anecdote; Tell a story. Get the reader involved in a brief narrative that
leads to the principal point you wish to make in your article:
Topic/Person Working Mothers
The morning of my daughters first school play I had an appointment. It was a
meeting with a prospective client about a contract that would potentially pay the
mortgage for three months. I went to the play, getting a seat in the front row. I
even brought my mum along in case it overran. But, not wanting to be late for my
appointment, I crept to the back just before the end so I could make a quick
getaway. My daughter, who was just three at the time, noticed my empty seat and
started to cry.
Cue commotion from the other mothers. Where had I gone? From my vantage
point just outside the doorway, I heard one say loudly and disapprovingly: Shes
gone to work. I watched as some of the others tutted and rolled their eyes.
http://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/2016/feb/22/is-it-so-bad-for-me-to-have-a-career-and-be-a-mumother-women-seem-to-think-so

2. Cite a surprising statistic or trend:

Topic/Event The changing trends in ramen
Toshiyuki Kamimura eats 400 bowls of ramen a year. Thats a bowl every day for
lunch or dinner, plus one for breakfast about once a week. For that weekly
breakfast bowl he usually goes to Ganso Nagahama out toward the ocean, housed
in what looks like an auto-parts warehouse that stays open 20 hours a day.
Sometimes I cant wait until lunch, says Kamimura, who consumes his ramen
with a sense of urgency, conveying thick ropes of noodles into his mouth and
sliding them down his throat like a duck, barely pausing to chew, so I eat with
the taxi drivers getting off the late shift.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/feb/22/the-rise-and-rise-of-ramen-noodle-soup

3. Describe the scene; create emotion, action, bring in suspense or intrigue

Topic/Place Climbing a Mountain
The wind slams into me, and I desperately grip my ice axes to keep from being
ripped off the mountain face. I push my head against the snow, calm myself, and
look down. Beneath my crampons is a 5,000-foot drop. Its like looking down from
the open door of an airplane. I am roped to my two companions, with nothing
attaching us to the mountain. A fall here would send all three of us plummeting
to our death.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/hkakabo-razi-climb/jenkins-text

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English Language Department 2016

4. Describe the person of interest / people of interest, bring in eye-catching

details, behaviour that implies, action that intrigues further reading
Topic/Person of Interest - Heiresses/Children of the Rich
On a crisp Sunday morning in November, Weymi Cho picked me up at my hotel, in
downtown Vancouver, in her new car, a white Maserati GranTurismo with a red
leather interior. She had slept only two hours the night before. A new karaoke
machine had been installed in her apartment, a four-million-dollar condo with a
view of the citys harbor, and she and some friends had spent the night singing
and drinking Veuve Clicquot. Weymi is twenty years old and slim, with large eyes
and waist-length hair that cascaded, on this occasion, over a silk Dior blouse. She
has a reserved, almost aristocratic air. It was a little past ten, and we were going
shopping.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/22/chinas-rich-kids-head-west

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English Language Department 2016

Three Ways to Conclude your Feature Article

1. Reinforce your point with a memorable fact, a detail or an image
Topic/Place Visiting Hiroshima
To get a glimpse of the Hiroshima lifestyle, we hit Hondori Street, a popular
downtown shopping street. We spend an evening there delving into Japanese
nightlife and culinary culture. The street is bright and lively and bustling with
youngsters. We indulge in okonomiyaki grilled pancakes prepared with a flour
and egg mixture and topped with fried soba noodles, eggs, cabbage, meat and
seafood. And no Japanese meal is complete without a few shots of hot sake to
beat the winter chill. Seasons influence lives and present us with variety and
colour and it has been mesmerising to experience Japan's melange of winter
hues.
2. End with a lesson, a discovery or a revelation
Topic/Person Working Mothers
But I often feel Im in the minority. Do the women who roll their eyes at other
women who leave the school play early or show up late to parents evening
because their meetings overran really believe females should only be in parttime, flexible work that fits around their children? That your career has to end
or run on half-speed the minute you decide to have children? Or that women
dont have what it takes to combine a career with parenting?
Until women are prepared to support each others career decisions gender pay
gaps and glass ceilings will always be part of the conversation about women and
work.
3. Form a favourable and positive opinion or impression regarding the
topic/person of interest, event or place
Topic/Event Solo Travel
Even if you choose to travel in a group, I encourage you to take moments to
yourself to explore. I appreciated the familiarity having other American students
afforded me, but honestly, the people who reveled in that familiarity might have
just cheated themselves out of the best parts of the experience of being in
another country. Traveling alone helps you break out of your shell, immerse
yourself in a different culture and form an incredibly strong and personal
connection with new places. You just might be surprised by how versatile you
could be.

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