Writing the Introduction

Writing the Introduction Make your reader want more!

Set the tone for the essay Like the opening notes of a song tell you what sort of song it will be, the words you use set the tone of the essay. Tone is the mood of the essay that is conveyed through the language (word choice) you use. This essay MUST be in a FORMAL tone.

THE HOOK: Grab your reader’s attention with an interesting lead (hook). You can use • A quotation—from another writer • A surprising statement or fact—must be true • An imaginary situation or scenario—a made up story that relates to the theme • An anecdote—a true story that relates to the theme • Interesting background information—on racism, abuse, or Wright’s life • A new twist on a familiar phrase—take an old phrase and twist it to fit your theme

Quotation • “All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal that others,” said Napoleon in George Orwell’s classic novella Animal Farm. Uncle Sam might say something similar: “All people must pay taxes, but some may pay more taxes than others.”

A Surprising Fact A recent survey found that 88% of Americans consider themselves racially tolerant. A reassuring fact or a troubling one?

An Imaginary Situation or Scenario Imagine drifting at sea for days with no food and no water with two companions. When a bottle of water drifts by, a struggle over the bottle occurs where threats of killing one another begin.

An Anecdote A student has been getting into a lot of trouble—failing classes, starting fights, taking things that don’t belong to him. The guidance counselor at school suggests that his parents take him to a psychologist. The parents are mortified. However, after a few weeks, the visits to the doctor actually produce results.

Interesting Background information Incredibly, Frankenstein—one of the most important novels in western literature—was written by a teenager. When it was published in 1818, Mary Shelley was just 19 years old.

A New Twist on a Familiar Phrase To fight or not to fight? That is the question many teenagers ask themselves every day.

Next, provide the context necessary to understand your thesis (GDT) When writing about literature, you should provide: • the title of the book • the author’s full name • and if appropriate, the time period in which the literature was published

Example • Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein was published over 180 years ago, but it raises a question that is more important today than ever: What is a creator’s responsibility for his or her creation?

The Exposition (GDT) The exposition is where you provide the reader with enough background information on the book (focusing on your theme) so that a general audience can get the gist of what the book is about. The exposition is sandwiched between the lead and the thesis; therefore, it MUST flow smoothly from the lead to the thesis.

Writing the Conclusion • Begin by restating the thesis in an emphatic way (Try to convey in a voice that sounds like, “See! I proved my point!”) • Summarize each main point in your body paragraphs • End with a clincher (Leave your reader thinking, “Hmm…Good point!”)

Sample Clincher To fight or not to fight? If fighting means standing up for one’s rights, then by all means fight. But, if the fight only results in more problematic circumstances, then it’s probably best to walk away.

Sample Intro Booker T. Washington once said, "I have never seen any part of the world where it seemed to me the masses of Negro People would be better off than right here in these Southern States." Published in 1945, Richard Wright's autobiographical novel Black Boy was to prove the contrary. It documented prejudice and oppression caused by the Jim Crow laws in the Deep South in the early twentieth century. It is an account of the difficult road of an African American, who was convinced to have greater destiny than that of a stereotypical black person, the white people tried to transform him into. Wright tells the violent and disturbing story of his own life between the years 1908 and 1934 when he lived in the southern states of Mississippi and Tennessee where the racism he experiences forces him to learn to fit in with white society, to comply with the expectations black society places on him, both of which help him to ultimately learn about and record the idiosyncrasies of human nature.

Sample Conclusion Although Wright is confronted with many challenges during his lifetime as a black southerner in a white racist society, the cultural lessons he learns from both the white and black expectations of him ironically lead him to a path of success as a writer. White society teaches him that ignorance in numbers can be a powerful force, but that rising above the ignorance will set him free. The blacks show Richard that submission to white dominance keeps society in a segregated state. These prevailing lessons provide Wright with the motivation to rise above the accepted standards and become exactly what society has tried to tell him he could not be: an intelligent, successful black man. Although Booker T. Washington was born into slavery and freed after the Civil War, Wright’s experiences were much the same. The only difference is Wright had to fight his own war—and he won.

Writing the Introduction