Introduction Techniques A.K.A. Attention Grabbers or Hooks
Reflective Question Think of a question or two that requires reflective thinking on the part of the reader. No Yes or No questions! For Example: What if there was no diversity in the world? What if everyone was the same race and religion? Would there still be wars?
Quote Find a quote that fits in with your topic and will persuade the reader to agree with your position. Be sure to tell who said the quote. For Example: According to President John F. Kennedy, We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
Statistic Use a statistic that helps make a point, or a statistic that is unexpected or shocking to get the reader s attention. Be sure to include where the statistic came from. For Example: A plastic bag can take anywhere from 20-1000 years to break down into smaller pieces. (oceans crusader)
Heartstrings Find a way to appeal to the reader s emotions (pathos). Babies, puppies, sad stories, etc. are all ways to pull on the reader s heartstrings. For example: Every year over 7 million children die from not having enough to eat. The sad truth is that these poor babies suffer with empty cries for food that go unanswered.
Fragments Use a series of sentence fragments to focus the reader s attention on the images you want them to think about. For Example: The smell of suntan lotion. A lazy day. Sandy beaches. Crystal blue ocean water. Not a care in the world. Ahhh! Vacation.
Hypothetical Situation Describe a scene that could come true if your issue was solved the way you believe it should be. May start with Picture this... or Imagine... For example: Imagine that there was enough food in the world to feed everybody. No more hunger, suffering, or worries about innocent people starving to death.
Definition State a definition in your own words (or straight from the dictionary, citing your source) that ties to your topic. Make sure you transition into the position statement. For Example: A blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people. (dictionary,com)we all will know at least one person that fits this description in life. Bully. However, if we all stand together, a bully will not have any victims to prey on.
Set them Up; Knock them Down In this approach, the writer begins with a counterargument and then spends the rest of the paragraph knocking it down. (Gallagher, Write Like This) For Example: Plastic water bottles that are set out at the curb in the blue recycling bins will be made into new similar objects. Wrong! The best that we can hope for is that the plastic can be reused for making items such as doormats, plastic lumber or textiles. This is not recycling, but downcycling. (plastic pollution coalition)
Don t forget your thesis statement! Your introduction should include a polished thesis statement that introduces the reader to the topic that will be discussed in the paper. Don t settle for the first sentence you jot down on your paper. Work with adding better words that make it more concise and cohesive to the body of your paper. The thesis statement is one of the most important sentences in your paper!