Transcript The Essentials of Introduction

The Essentials of
Introduction
An Essential Introduction (Essentially)
Should answer 4 basic questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why is the writer writing?
What is the reader reading?
Where is the writing going?
Why should the reader care?
Does this intro answer all 4?
Television is bad. There are many bad effects of
TV. Here are some of the effects of TV that are
bad.
Answers 3 of 4 questions, BUT too general
and vague AND lacks creativity of language.
How about this one?
Many people sit in front of the TV nightly and tune in
to their favorite show. Perhaps you are one of them.
But most of us do not consider the many harmful
effects TV can have on their lives, particularly on our
physical health. Not only does most TV promote
inactivity, which can lead to problems like obesity, but
it is suggested that those who watch TV often are more
likely to be sick more often and may even die earlier
than those who watch little or no TV.
Your INTRO should include
1.
2.
3.
A HOOK to grab your reader’s attention
(related in some way to the subject of your
claim)
TRANSITION that connects the hook to…
The central CLAIM or thesis statement.
The HOOK
You can lead up to your claim in a variety of ways.
You may:
1. Begin with a rhetorical question
2. Begin with a brief story (anecdote)
3. Begin with a quote
4. Begin by stating an interesting fact
5. Begin with a joke
6. Begin with a brief description
Hook #1 – The Question
“Have you ever really thought about just how
much you depend on television for your daily
entertainment?”
Be sure your rhetorical question is one the
reader would really pause to consider.
Hook #2 – The Story
“It never really occurred to me just how much TV I
watch until a friend asked me what my favorite show
was and I couldn’t respond. Well, I like Lost, I thought.
The characters are interesting. But so are the characters in The
Practice and Gray’s Anatomy. And I can’t miss Gossip
Girl either. Oh, and American Idol, of course. I like laughing
at the people who think they can sing. And… It occurred to
me then, as my friend sat staring at me, awaiting my
reply, that maybe I should go outside. Who knows, I
thought, it might be nice out there.
Hook #3 – The Quote
Neil Postman, the late social critic, observed
once upon a time that we, Americans, are
gradually “amusing ourselves to death.” While
he cites a number of ways we do this, perhaps
the most dangerous amusement of all is TV.
Hook #4 – The Fact
One startling statistic, provided by the A.C. Neilson
Co., a prominent global marketing research firm,
illuminates the direness of our TV addiction. According
to the firm, the average American watches “more than
4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2
months of nonstop TV-watching per year)”
(www.csun.edu). They go on to report that, “In a 65year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the
tube.” It is clear that, as a society, we need to find more
productive ways to spend our free time.
Hook #5 – The Joke
“A newspaper reporter was writing a feature story about prison life and was
interviewing one of the prisoners. ‘Do you watch much television here?’
“ ‘Only the daytime shows,’ the inmate said. ‘At night we're locked in our cells
and don't see any television.’
“ ‘That's too bad,’ the reporter said, ‘But I do think it is nice that the warden
lets you watch it in the daytime.’
“ ‘What do you mean, nice?’ the inmate said. ‘That's part of the punishment.’"
(Hayes).
While the joke above may be humorous, it very nicely sums up the prevailing
attitude about the quality of daytime TV, so the question remains—what can
we do to clean up daytime TV?
Hook #6 – The Description
“You could almost see it as a painting on a museum
wall, a piece titled “The American Family Connects” or
“The Golden Calf.” In it, poised in positions of
comfort on the living room couch, a faceless group of
people, say five of them, mom and dad on either side of
the couch like bookends on a shelf. The whole scene is
illuminated by the ghostly pale-blue glow of a television
set. The ears and mouths of the people are gone. Only
their eyes remain, fixed on the TV set. This sort of
scene is rapidly coming to define the American family.”
Example 1
Many early Amercians wrote their stories down for
people to read. Three of these people are John
Smith, William Bradford, and Oludah Equiano.
Their stories show the importance of freedom in
early America.
Majestic Intro
Helen Keller once wrote that, “Character cannot be
developed in ease and quiet,” and that “only through
experience of trial and suffering can the soul be
strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”
And it is through trial and suffering that many of the early
American settlers were able to build their characters and
so gain their freedom. I believe John Smith, William
Bradford and Oludah Equiano are especially good
examples of the sort of early Americans who relied on
strength of character to overcome seemingly
insurmountable obstacles and gain their freedom in the
New World.
Rhetorical Question
How would you react if one morning you walked
out of your home to find a spaceship hovering
above you in midair, strange and frightening
creatures making incomprehensible noise at you?
This is something like what the American natives
must have felt upon encountering the first
European colonists…