Writing the Introduction
English II
What NOT to do!
#1
Do NOT write using person pronouns.
AVOID the following pronouns:
▫ I, me, my, mine
▫ You, your, yours
▫ We, us, our, ours
*** MOST essays written in school are formal, academic essays.
The exception to this rule is when you are writing a personal
reflective essay or a personal narrative. KNOW what type of
essay you are writing!
What NOT to do!
#2
Do NOT announce your intentions.
AVOID the following types of phrases:
▫ In this paper I will tell you…
▫ This essay will be about…
▫ The purpose of this paper is…
What NOT to do!
#3
Do NOT apologize.
AVOID the following types of phrases:
▫ In my humble opinion…
▫ I’m not sure about this, but…
Your writing should sound confident!
What an introduction
SHOULD do!
1. Get the reader’s attention.
2. Provide context for your reader to
understand what the essay will be
about.
3. Provide a plan of attack.
4. Provide a clear thesis statement.
1. Hook
• The hook is the first sentence
of the introduction.
• Choose a hook that works well for the type
of essay you are writing (argumentative,
expository/informative, descriptive, reflective, narrative).
• Types of Hooks:
▫ Surprising Statement/Fact/Statistic
▫ Anecdote
▫ Quotation
▫ Question
Choose a Hook:
Surprising Statement
• Begin with an interesting statement related
to your topic, or possibly a fact/statistic if
appropriate.
• While the fact/statement should be relevant to your
topic, this is not the place for evidence you will use
later in the body of your essay.
Bad Example
Many things in life happen,
even if people try to prevent
them.
Good Example
Many of Shakespeare’s
tragedies illustrate the concept
that individual will is no match
for pre-ordained fate.
Choose a Hook:
Anecdote
• Begin with an anecdote, or a mini-story, that
relates to the topic of your essay.
• The story should be small, just to grab interest, and
should NOT take over the whole essay.
Bad Example
Jim and Jessica are teenagers.
They meet and fall in love. Their
best friends spread gossip and
lies. Their families are always
arguing because they live on the
same street. They also don’t
communicate well.
Good Example
Jim and Jessica, typical
teenagers, meet and fall in
love; somehow families,
friends, and mixed signals find
a way to break apart their
relationship.
Choose a Hook:
Quotation
• Begin with a famous and/or thoughtprovoking quotation.
• Explain its relevance, do not just fling it out there
and hope that it fits.
Bad Example
“Love is our true destiny. We
do not find the meaning of life
ourselves alone – we find it
with another.” – Thomas
Merton. William Shakespeare
wrote a play called Romeo and
Juliet.
Good Example
Thomas Merton said that “love
is our true destiny. We do not
find the meaning of life
ourselves alone – we find it
with another.” Evidence of
this statement’s truth can be
found throughout literature.
Choose a Hook:
Question
• Begin with a question related to the topic.
• Avoid personal pronouns (you, me, our, etc.).
• Avoid yes/no types of questions.
Bad Example
Good Example
Do you remember what it was
like to fall in love for the first
time?
What controls the path that a
person’s life follows – destiny,
personal choice, or something
else entirely?
2. Context
• Context introduces the concept(s)
and/or text(s) that the essay will be
about.
• The context is a bridge between the attentiongrabbing hook and more specific plan of
attack and thesis sentences.
• Good Example:
▫ Romeo and Juliet is a classic
Shakespearean tragedy because it
focuses on the issue of destiny.
3. Plan of Attack
• The plan of attack sentence identifies
what the main points of your essay will be.
• This can be by classifying your main points of
evidence under one idea, or by listing them
separately in a series.
• Example 1 (grouped together):
▫ In this play, the young lovers struggle to
overcome many barriers in order to be
together.
• Example 2 (listed in a series):
▫ In this play, the young lovers struggle
against family, friends, and
misunderstandings in order to be together.
4. Thesis
• The thesis makes a claim about your
topic or text, lays out key evidence to
support this claim, and explains the
significance of this.
• Identifying Thesis Elements:
▫ Claim: WHAT are you saying about the text/topic?
▫ Evidence: HOW do you know this?
▫ Significance: WHY does this matter?
Thesis, continued
• Example of Thesis Elements:
• Claim:
▫ The play reinforces the idea that individuals are
powerless to change their fates .
• Evidence:
▫ The chorus uses foreshadowing, Romeo and Juliet are
characterized as young and naïve, their final deaths are
caused by situational irony .
• Significance:
▫ The course of people’s lives cannot be changed by hard
work or trickery; people must accept their destinies.
Thesis, continued
When in doubt, use the magic
sentence.
Through (EVIDENCE), the (TEXT)
reveals that (CLAIM); thus, the
(TEXT) shows that (SIGNIFICANCE).
Thesis, continued
Example of Completed Thesis Sentence:
• Through the use of foreshadowing,
characterization, and situational irony, the play
reinforces the idea that individuals are
powerless to change their fates; Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet thus serves as a reminder
that the course of fate cannot be altered by hard
work or cunning; people must accept fate as is.
Finished Introduction
Many of Shakespeare’s tragedies illustrate the
concept that individual will is no match for preordained fate. Romeo and Juliet is a classic
Shakespearean tragedy because it focuses on this issue
of destiny. In this play, the young lovers struggle
against family, friends, and misunderstandings in
order to be together. Through the use of
foreshadowing, characterization, and situational irony,
the play reinforces the idea that individuals are
powerless to change their fates; Shakespeare’s Romeo
and Juliet thus serves as a reminder that the course of
fate cannot be altered by hard work or cunning; people
must accept fate as is.