The Intro Paragraph

1
The Intro Paragraph

• Two goals
• Grab the readers attention
• Let the reader know what the essay is about
• You can do this by

2
Opening with a Quote

• This can be a well-known quote that is
  universally recognized, or it can be a saying
  used by someone such as a relative, a coach, a
  teacher, or a friend.
• They say, Nice guys finish last, but that
  wasnt the case for me!

3
How It Works

• They say, Nice guys finish last, but that
  wasnt the case for me!
• After months of practice drills, tired muscles,
  and more than one screaming blister, I was
  finally ready for the coach to put me in.
• Ill never forget the day I played the best game
  of my life.

Quote
Connector
Topic
4
Opening with Dialogue

• Your essay comes alive when you use dialogue.
• Get that nasty thing out of my house! my mom
  shrieked at the top of her lungs.

5
How It Works

• Get that nasty thing out of my house! my mom
  shrieked at the top of her lungs.
• My plan to sneak my new pet into house was
  falling apart quickly.
• It was time to come clean and introduce my mom to
  the newest member of our familya green lizard
  named Leo.

Dialogue
Connector
Topic
6
Open with a NON yes/no question

• Your goal here is to get the audience to
  think, not actually answer the question.
• What if you thought you would never see your
  family again?

7
How It Works

• What if you thought you would never see your
  family again?
• That thought flashed through my mind as I sat
  huddled under the low branches of a pine tree
  trying to protect myself from the driving rain.
• The light was fading quickly, and I had to face
  the fact that I was lost and alone in the woods.

Question
Connector
Topic
8
Review Try these techniques to grab the readers
attention

• Use a piece of interesting dialogue
• Use a well-known quote
• Use a NON yes or no questions
• Of course, each of these must relate to your
  topic.
• Also, DONT FORGOT THE CONNECTOR SENTENCE TO
  TIE THE LEAD TO THE TOPIC

9
Time to Practice!

• Read the writing prompts in the Title/Topic
  column.
• Create an engaging lead for each topic.
• All boxes must be filled-in.

10
Banned Phrases

• Hi, my name is
• In this paper (paragraph, sentence) I
  will
• I want to tell you about
• Do you want to know more about
• Also, NEVER restate the prompt
• word-for-word.

11
Time to connect it to your topic

• Select your most effective engaging lead and
  write it on the back of the graphic organizer.
• Create a sentence that will connect your engaging
  lead to your topic. Sometimes it helps to ask
  yourself why you selected that particular lead,
  or ask yourself how does it connect to the topic.
• Now create a sentence that lets your audience
  know what the essay will be about.

12
The Closing Paragraph

• Three goals
• Signal that the end of the essay is near. (One
  sentence)
• Summarize the key points of the essay. (One to
  two sentences)
• Provide a sense of closure. (One to two
  sentences)

13
Transitions

• Avoid the following
• In conclusion,
• Finally,
• Lastly,
• Try one of these instead
• As one can see,
• As a result,
• With these points in mind,

14
Summarizing

• DO NOT restate all facts and details
• Focus ONLY on the key points
• DO NOT restate the same topic (thesis) statement
  from your intro paragraph
• It can be reiterated with new words

15
Closure

• Provide closure by using one of the strategies
  below
• Issue a call to action
• Pose an open ended question
• Make a prediction (If, then)
• Make a deduction