How to Write I ntroductions for Any P aper

1. How to Write Introductions for Any Paper

2. There are three parts to the introduction • Grabber • Orientation • Thesis

3. Thesis: Start with the END in mind • Thesis is a one sentence statement summarizing all important points of your paper. • What is the Education of Little Tree About? • Little tree learns the ways of Native American. • He learns from his grandparents who raise him. • He learns how Indians are viewed and treated as he experiences cruelty at a white-run Indian Boarding School. • COMBINE THESE SENTENCES to create a ONE sentence thesis statement. • Little Tree learns the ways of the Native Americans from his grandparents who raise him, but he also learns how Indians are discriminated against from first hand experience at a white-run Indian Boarding School.

4. Apply the same principles to your paper’s thesis statement. • What is your paper about? • A myth has four functions • Genesis is a myth • A person will only believe in the story that aligns with their culture. • A myth, such as “Genesis”, has four functions, and a person will only believe in a story that aligns with their culture and point of view.

5. Grabber • Grab the reader’s attention with the first linein one of four ways: • Action • A Deep Thought or Question • Vivid Description • Quote or Dialogue

6. Action: Show the reader some action relating to your topic… Topic = Learning the Native American Ways Running from the law during Prohibition with a sack full of whiskey jars weighing more than he does, Little Tree quickly learns one of many great lessons - dogs really are a man’s best friend.

7. A Deep Thought or Question: Pose a question to your reader that your paper will work to answer • Topic = Learning the Native American Ways • Native American are connected to all around them, from nature to earth spirits. If Native Americans are our ancestors, how is it that we have not adopted those same values?

8. Vivid Description: A series of three connected images pertaining to your topic. • Topic = Learning the Native American Ways • Making whiskey in the woods, trading a Christian fifty cents for a sick calf, and narrowly escaping a venomous snake bite, Little Tree has learned a great deal in one way or another from Grandpa.

9. Quote or Dialogue: Drop and connect a quote to the topic of your paper • Topic = Learning the Native American Ways • “Ye see, Little Tree, ain’t no way of learning, except by letting ye do” (Carter 87). Grandpa teaches Little Tree many great lessons, but the one exceptional lesson parents and teens should take to heart is kids learn best by making their own mistakes.

10. Orientation: Share some information about your topic or book. • Topic = Learning the Native American Ways • The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter is a series of vignettes or glimpses into the life of a little boy raised by Native American grandparents.

11. Putting it all together… • Running from the law during Prohibition with a sack full of whiskey jars weighing more than he does, Little Tree quickly learns one of many great lessons - dogs really are a man’s best friend. This is only one of many great lessons in The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter. Througha series of vignettes, the reader sees glimpses into the life of a little boy raised by Native American grandparents. WhileLittle Tree learns the ways of the Native Americans from his grandparents who raise him, he also learns how Indians are discriminated against from first hand experience at a white-run Indian Boarding School. Grabber – Orientation - Thesis