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Introductory Paragraph

Introductory Paragraph. Expository Writing. Purpose of the Introductory Paragraph. Captures the reader’s interest Introduces the topic Presents the “focus”/thesis statement. Ways to develop an Introductory Paragraph.

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Introductory Paragraph

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  1. Introductory Paragraph Expository Writing

  2. Purpose of the Introductory Paragraph • Captures the reader’s interest • Introduces the topic • Presents the “focus”/thesis statement

  3. Ways to develop an Introductory Paragraph • Share interesting or surprising details about the subject or use a great quote! • State the “focus” /thesis statement • Give interesting background information

  4. What are the required three elements needed for an Introductory Paragraph? 1. A Lead – a good topic sentence 2. Thesis - focus statement 3. Interesting facts or details

  5. Leads in Expository Writing What's the most boring way you could begin a research report about the human brain? A rattlesnake? The United States Constitution? We all know.. . . In the report I will tell you about. . . "Now that we know that, let's experiment with difference places to start.

  6. 1. Start with a Snapshot. When you paint a picture, you draw the reader in . Notice the difference between these two leads to a report about ice-skating. • BoringIce-skating is my favorite sport. • BetterIt's ten degrees below zero and the river is frozen a foot thick. It makes snapping sounds like the limbs of trees cracking. A long figure glides along the black ice, moving toward the city. The only sound is the scraping of each blade as it bites into the river. That's me doing my favorite sport, ice-skating.

  7. A Good Lead / Topic Sentence A good topic sentence Snapshot Observation Question Connection Favorite fact the topic People often think all planets are alike, but there are actually three types of planets in our solar system three different types planets in our solar system

  8. 2. Start with an important observation. • Don't start in the general. Put your most surprising or important observation into you opening. • GeneralThe human brain is a complex and amazing organ. • BetterSeeing stars, it dreams of eternity. Hearing birds, it makes music. Smelling flowers, it is enraptured. Touching tools, it transforms the earth. But deprived of these sensory experiences, the human brain withers and dies. (Inside the Brain --- Ronald Kotulak)

  9. 3. Start with a strongly stated question your readers might have. In some ways all writing is about trying to answer our best questions. A strong question is one we all want to know the answer to. • Weakly-statedIn this paper I will attempt to answer the question why history is important. • BetterWhat's the point of studying history? Who cares what happened long ago? After all, aren't the people in history books dead?

  10. 4. Put your connection with the subject in the lead. Why are you attracted to the subject? Do you have a personal reason for writing about this subject? What specific memories of the subject come to mind? • GeneralThe problem of longitude was one of the greatest scientific challenges of its day. • BetterOnce on a Wednesday excursion when I was a little girl, my father bought me a beaded wire ball that I loved. At a touch, I could collapse the toy intoa flat coil between my palms, or pop it open to make a hollow sphere. Rounded out it resembled a tiny Earth, because its hinged wires traced the same patternintersecting circles that I had seen on the globe in my school room -- the thin black lines of latitude and longitude. (Longitude --- DavaSobel)

  11. 5. Flaunt your favorite bit of research in the lead. Start with the facts that made you smile, laugh, go "ahaaa" or just plain grossed you out. • GeneralDid you ever wonder why God created flies? • BetterThough we've been killing them for years now, I have never tested the folklore that with a little cream and sugar, flies taste very much like blackraspberries.

  12. Writing Your Thesis Statement

  13. What is a Thesis Statement A thesis statement: • tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. • is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. • directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel. • makes a claim that others might dispute. • is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

  14. Sample Thesis Statements The 100- year-old Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay Wisconsin, (an interesting subject) has the largest refracting telescope in the world. (the fact to emphasize) The International Space Station (an interesting subject) is the combined project of 16 different countries (the fact to emphasize)

  15. Review –Three elements of a well developed introductory paragraph… A lead – a good topic sentence Interesting facts or details Thesis – focus statement

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