Hl wemne Focus Guidelines for Introductory Paragraphs ‘The first paragraph in an essay is called the introductory paragraph. There are two purposes of the introductory paragraph: to get the readers’ attention and to introduce them to the subject of your essay. In other words, you need to lead readers to the subject of the essay in an interesting way and convince them that reading your essay will be worth their time. ‘There are several guidelines for writing a good introductory paragraph. 4 It must be relevant to the topic; that is, it should not introduce material not covered in the essay ¢@ I should not give detailed information about the main ideas of the essay. Detailed information belongs in the body paragraphs. © There should be at least two sentences before the thesis statement. @ The thesis statement should come at the end of the introductory paragraph, ‘Types of Introductory Paragraphs There are many ways for a writer to get the readers’ attention in an introductory paragraph, Three of the most common ways are discussed here. In your essays, try to develop the skill of writing different types of introductions, so your essays do not become too predictable. General to Specific ‘This is perhaps the most common type of introduction. It begins with a general statement of the larger topic, and then each sentence narrows it down until you get to the specific thesis statement. Anecdote ‘An anecdote is a brief story that illustrates your topic. In a personal anecdote, you tell a story about your awn experiences that are relevant to the thesis. In @ third-person anecdote, you tell a story about someone else. You can base your story on a real person(s), or you can make up a story. Historical You may also choose to write a brief historical introduction to your essay. Since this is just the introduction to the essay, you don’t need to give a detailed historical account, just an overview. 78 Part il The EssayPRACTICE 1: Identifying Types of introductory Paragraphs ‘The samme thesis statement is introduced four diferent ways in the following models. Identify the type of introductory paragraph in each. Use these label: GS for General to Specific A for Ancedote H for Historical Paragraph 1: ‘Throughout my childhood, I was always in trouble at school. The teachers said | was an “underachiever" and “lazy | had a hard time learning to read, When | was fourteen years old, my parents finally realized what was, wrong: | am dyslexic." They got me the extra help | needed, and now Iam the ‘owner of a chain of grocery stores, I have a loving family and two children, ‘and | was recently elected mayor of our town. in my opinion, success depends ‘more on hard work than on innate ability. ‘aysiooae role to a peroon who hee th earhing deabity dyson, which cavsas ical with reading end wring Paragraph 2:___ With the exception of Nave Americans, the United States i @ country cof immigrants. Each new group of immigrants arived bringing ther hopes, ‘their dreams, and their work ethic,’ and they all had to start at the bottom. One by one, the immigrant groups, such asthe lish, the Haine, the Chinese, the Vietnamese, andthe Latinos, struggled for acceptance and respect. Each croup faced enormous obstacies? trom discrimination. nthe end, however, ach succeeded and now makes up an important part ofthis county. As immigrants’ experiences have shown, success depends more on hard work than on innate ait “Werk otis te ele nate Wikis the | Pods sarang thal malas Xe va sce to sucesed : Chapter 6: The Introductory Paragraph 79Paragraph 3: Some people seem to learn languages almost without effort My cousin Liz, onthe other hand, stugoled wth ttalian all through high school. She never ‘gave up, however. After high school, she had a chance to become a fight attendant, but one jb requiement was that she had to speak a forign language. In her determination, she borrowed money from her parents and went to Italy for a year to study at a language schoo). She says twas the hardest thing she had ever done, but she cit Infact, when | visited her in Rome last year, she had ‘become completly fient, had a gret job with Atala the Itaan airing, anc loved her i. Liz story shows that success depends more on hard work than on tao sty. te ei fnd90 percent | Paragraph 4: oceme poe At hunan beings went o feel suceesi, but we are born wt the How ned you same ees, However, we all have the ay to learn By wordng had st provers? Share learning something, all of us can master it to a certain extent. Even the most : ‘your thoughts with ee famous art ay tat practic is more peta thn he nate tlt Se”) ‘Success depends more on hard work than on innate abilty @ PRACTICE 2: Evaluating Introductory Paragraphs ‘Read the four introductory paragraphs that follow. Check off) the features of a _good introduction that they have (remember, they must have all four to be a good introduction) 1. Some people have a happy life and some people don't. My friend Tony has a iiserable life, He just got divorced, and now his wife won't let him see his children. To live @ happy life, a good environment is more important than good genes, Iris retevant to the topic of the essay. 1 Iecontains at least three sentences. 1 Ie doesn’t give details that belong in the body of the essay. © Itends with the thesis statement. 80. Part Il The Essay2, First, a good environment can make you healthier, which can make you happy. Second, if you live in a good environment, you probably have many friends who can help you when you need it, Friends are important for emotional health as well, People with friends are happier than people without friends. Also, a good environment is probably safer, so you don't have to be afraid to walk down the stret. Being safe makes everyone happy. To live a happy life, a good environment is more important than good genes. Gi itis relevant to the topic of the essay 1 Itcontains at least three sentences, Ci It doess’t give details that belong in the body of the essay Oi It ends with the thesis statement. 3. It s said that your mother and father make you what you are. You get your genes from them, and they may have great genes. However, if they don't raise you in @ safe, loving environment, you may never be happy. To live a happy life, a good environment is more important than good genes. Oi Itis relevant tothe topic of the essay 0 It contains at least three sentences. 1 Ie doesn’t give details that belong in the body of the essay. 0 Ieends with the thesis statement, 4, Before the nineteenth century, most people lived in dirty, smelly, unhealthy environments. To live a happy lif, a good environment is more important than good genes. O Iris relevant to the topic of the essay. Itcontains at least three sentences, tedoese’t give details that belong in the body of the essay. Ie ends with the thesis statement. 5. Environment is much more important that genes when you are growing up, ‘A good example of this is the millions of people in the world who were born ‘with physical challenges. If people are raised in a good environment, they can be successful and live a happy life. O itis relevant tothe topic of the essay. O Itcontains at east three sentences, 7 It doesn’t give details that belon, C1 Itends with the thesis statement. the body of the essay Chapter 6: The Introductory Paragraph 81