Techniques for Writing a Great Introductory Paragraph

Essays

1. Relate your topic to recent news

• It is only two years ago that two students shot and killed their classmates at Made-up High School. Though an extreme example, personal conflicts and social issues of school are very much on the minds of our children. It is not easy being young today. (Insert thesis here).

2. An interesting Fact

• There are 10 000 people in New Brunswick who do not have a home to call their own…

3. Use an anecdote or incident to begin your paragraph.

• Recently, my son went out to the suburbs to visit his friend. While there, a group of kids in a car threw eggs at he and his friends. How should he react to such an action, especially considering that recently a young man was shot at the bus stop in the same community. There are no easy answers. (insert thesis).

4. Use a striking contrast between common ideas and your topic.

• Many people look back fondly on childhood. They may think of it as a safe and easy time with little responsibility and few worries. It seems the truth about childhood has been forgotten. It is a dangerous time filled with difficulty, ambiguity, and hardship. Today it is even more so, and nothing is simple for today’s young people. (insert thesis).

5. Begin with a broad, general statement of your topic and narrow it down to your thesis.

• In the course of working through school, students hav taken many jobs they would rather forget. They may have spent nine hours a day lifting heavy automobile and truck batteries off the end of an assembly belts. They may have risked the loss of eyes and fingers working a punch press in a textile factory. They may have served as a ward aide ina mental hospital helping care for brain-damaged men who would break into violent fits at unexpected moments. But none of these jobs was as dreadful as a job in the apple plant. (insert thesis).

6. Explain the importance of your topic.

• Almost all Canadians are involved with sports in some way. They may play basketball or volleyball or swimming or skating. They may watch football or basketball games at the high school, university, or professional level. Sports may seem like an innocent pleasure, but it is important to look under the surface. In reality, sports have reached a point where they play too large a part in daily life. (insert thesis).

7. Ask a philosophical question and/or make a philosophical

statement• At some time in our life, each of us will be

asked to make a sacrifice. The moment will not be planned, and the sacrifice asked will not be simple. The true measure of our humanity will be revealed in our willingness to accommodate the request.