Essay Structure

1. Essay Structure The Introduction Jennifer Bennett Sanderson High School Raleigh, NC Wake County Public School System

2. Essay Structure Basics • Three Parts: • Introduction • Tell audience where you’re going to take them. • Body • Take them on the journey. • Conclusion • Remind them where they’ve been and why this journey was meaningful. Introduction Body Conclusion

3. A Little More Detail . . . Introduction • Purposes: • To introduce topic and purpose of essay • To capture the audience’s attention and draw them in • To set the tone of the essay

4. A Little More Detail . . . Introduction • Logical progression: general  specific General Opening Specific Thesis + Comment

5. Opening the Intro. Paragraph • Begin with . . . • An interesting, relevant quotation • A challenging (rhetorical) question • A general statement relating to your topic • A specific fact or statistic • An anecdote that illustrates your topic

6. Opening the Intro. Paragraph • Begin with . . . • a quotation—something profound and generally related to your topic • (Topic: MLK’s use of language in speech) • Ex. “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I’m free at last!” The most powerful tool that King used to free his people was language. • a rhetorical question • Ex. How can language be as powerful a weapon as a gun?

7. Opening the Intro. Paragraph • Begin with . . . • A general statement • Ex. The evils of segregation were the catalyst that ignited the powerful flames of Martin Luther King’s rhetoric. • A fact or statistic • Ex. One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the evils of segregation still infected American society. • Ex. On August 28, more than 2,000 buses, 21 special trains, 10 chartered airliners, and uncounted cars converged on Washington.

8. Opening of the Intro. • Begin with . . . • An anecdote: a brief, relevant story that— • captures the readers’ interest, drawing them into your essay (everybody loves a story!) • illustrates the spirit/idea of the thesis, leading readers to down to it • sets the tone and mood for the rest of the paper

9. Example of an Anecdote • “. . . it was pitch dark, maybe 4:00 in the morning. We were coming down from the north and we cross over this big bridge, I think it might have been the bridge over the Susquehanna. . . . There had been all this stuff in the newspaper . . . [some] were in total panic mode — Call out the National Guard! Alert the 101st Airborne! Close the liquor stores! Hide the white women! Evacuate the children to the countryside! It was like they thought the Mongol hordes of Gengiz [sic] Khan were descending on the nation's capitol to rape, ravage, and pillage.” • Michaels, Shiela. “Interview: Bruce Hartford.” February 2002. Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement. <http://crmvet.org/nars/bruce1.htm>. 6 October 2010. • How do I connect this story to my thesis?? • Instead of fearing physical violence, the newspapers should have been more concerned about the power of the now-famous words of Martin Luther King, Jr. that shook the foundations of American society.

10. Connecting • After your general opening statement, you need to lead the reader to your specificthesis and comment (the part of the thesis that lists your main pts.). • Make logical connections between your opening and your thesis, gradually becoming more specific.

11. Transitioning: Sample Intro. Paragraph How can language be as powerful a weapon as a gun? Most people would consider the analogy ludicrous. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., however, abhorred violence and did not consider it an option in the war against segregation in mid-twentieth century America. King’s most powerful weapons were his words. In his “I Have a Dream” speech, he artfully crafts his rhetoric, using the power of metaphor, imagery, and repetition to expose the evils of racism and segregation and to inspire his audience to immediate and enduring action against them.

12. Comment on the analogy in the opening question Opening rhetorical question How can language be as powerful a weapon as a gun? Most people would consider the analogy ludicrous. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., however, abhorred violence and did not consider it an option in the war against segregation in mid-twentieth century America. His most powerful weapons were his words.In his “I Have a Dream” speech, King artfully crafts his rhetoric, using the power of metaphor, imagery, and repetition to expose the evils of racism and segregation and to inspire his audience to immediate and enduring action against them. Transition from “people” in general to a specific person Words “violence” and “war” tie sentence back to “weapon” and “gun” in the opening. Specific setting General reference to “powerful weapons” from opening now specific-ally named: “words” Specific thesis and comment

13. The Concluding Paragraph • Moves in the opposite logical direction of the introduction: specific  general • Begin by restating the thesis (NOT using the same wording). • End by moving outward to a general conclusion.