Organizing Your Writing

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Organizing Your Writing

• PART 2 - Introduction

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There are 3 main parts to an introduction, what
are they?
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Introduction

• Attention Grabber
• Background information
• Thesis Statement
• Remember although you need at least 3 sentences
  in a paragraph, a good paragraph is 6 10
  sentences!

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Thesis Statement

• Usually comes at the end of the introductory
  paragraph
• Is one or two sentences in length
• States what the reader will find in the paper
• States the reason the paper is being written the
  argument
• You are persuading someone to see your side, and
  potentially change their mind about something
• You want to show that you see both sides, but
  yours is better
• Shows the organization of the paper what you
  will discuss first, second, etc.

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Prepare to Write Your Thesis

• To do this you will have to know what you are
  going to talk about in your paper.
• Write down a number of points you could make to
  support your argument
• Have a combination of at least 3 you can do
  more
• Your argument point 1
• Your argument point 2
• Support the other side point 3
• DO NOT WRITE DOWN NUMBERS, WRITE THE ACTUAL
  CONTENT!

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Examples

• Judy Syfer's essay, "I Want a Wife," exaggerates
  the marital expectations facing women in our
  society today. Those expectations include
  managing a household, maintaining a career, and
  having a good relationship with a spouse.

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Examples

• Young people in the Middle Ages, who were
  considered young but responsible adults by the
  age of sixteen, had fewer social choices when
  compared to modern American teenagers. Unless
  they followed a religious calling, medieval
  teenagers had to contend with an arranged
  marriage and bearing children while living
  without what we would consider personal privacy
  or freedom.

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Examples

• Pepper's and Amante both offer a greater variety
  of ingredients than other Chapel Hill/Carrboro
  pizza places (and than any of the national
  chains), but the funky, lively atmosphere at
  Pepper's makes it a better place to give visiting
  friends and family a taste of local culture.

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Your thesis should look like this!

• Argument . Or support 1, support 2, sympathy.

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NOW DO ITWrite Your Thesis

• Write your Argument
• Then your list of points toward and against to
  prove your thesis!
• Leave I, Me, My out of it! I know it is your
  opinion, YOU are writing the paper.

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Attention Grabber also known as a hook

• This usually comes at the beginning of your
  introduction and can be one of the following

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1.Opening with an unusual detail Manitoba,
because of its cold climate, is not thought of as
a great place to be a reptile. Actually, it has
the largest seasonal congregation of garter
snakes in the world!
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2. Opening with a strong statement

• Cigarettes are the number one cause of lighter
  sales in Canada!

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3. Opening with a Quotation

• Elbert Hubbard once said , "Truth is stronger
  than fiction."

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4. Opening with a Statistic or Fact

• Sometimes a statistic or fact will add emphasis
  or interest to your topic. It may be wise to
  include the item's source.
• 1 in 8 women die during child birth in Sierra
  Leon Amnesty International.

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5. Opening with a Question.

• Have you ever considered how many books we'd read
  if it were not for television?

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6. Opening with an Exaggeration or Outrageous
Statement.

• The whole world watched as the comet flew
  overhead.

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Now Your Turn

• Create 3 different grabber/hook sentences.
• WELL..What are you waiting for?

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Now you have the first and last sentence of your
introduction what else do you need?
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THE MIDDLE!

• Background information. What is the reader going
  to need to know about your topic.
• Make a list of what basic information your reader
  is going to need to know to understand your
  paper.
• Now write that list into complete sentences.