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Introductions…. Welcoming your readers to your writing. Introductions are like doors…. Which of these doors looks most inviting to you?. Would you feel more comfortable walking in here. …OR…. entering here…OR. either of these?. Your Introduction =. Door to your ideas!.
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Introductions… Welcoming your readers to your writing
Introductions are like doors… • Which of these doors looks most inviting to you?
Your Introduction = • Door to your ideas!
Some introduction strategies Come on in!
Background Information/History • In 1956, twelve women gave birth to deformed babies after taking the drug Thalidomide. Three years later, 500 deformed babies were born to mothers who were prescribed Thalidomide by their doctors. Animal tests indicated the drug had no harmful side effects, including birth defects, leading medical professionals to believe the drug was safe. The viable babies were grotesquely deformed, many having only one limb. Very few of these children were able to enjoy the normal childhood activities due to illnesses caused by their condition. While no one today takes Thalidomide, many new drugs are put on a fast-track for consumers by drug companies eager to see profits.
Anecdote • When I was seven years old, I remember being at the Marineland park in Niagara Falls, wondering how such a big whale could be happy in such a small pool… • Miriam Berke, a successful graphic artist, wife and mother, left her most recent counseling appointment feeling guilty. Her weekly sessions about co-workers, teacher’s notes, dieting, and Starbuck’s addiction seemed like petty whining in the face of real problems plaguing the world. Yet, thousands of ordinary, even privileged, people like Miriam see thousands of therapists every day, and mental health experts predict swift growth of the field in the next decade…
Anyone who has never heard of Myspace.com should look at the site at least once. Why? We have heard about internet predators who seek young teens like prey. However, anyone can fall victim to internet predators. With a membership of 47 million users, chances are that most people know someone posting information on the site. While most of the information is benign, anyone can access and gather it. Photos, street names, references to schedules, vacation dates, license plate numbers, and personal preferences are all available for the public to view, and in the wrong hands, Myspace.com is an unlimited source of information for stalkers and criminals. Emphasize the importance of the topic.
Make a surprising statement(this may require a little research…) • If the average man never trimmed his beard, it would grow to nearly 30 feet long in his lifetime... • No American has died of old age since 1951. • A 12 ounce jar of peanut butter with up to 90 insect fragments and a 12-ounce can of tomato juice with 10 maggots in it are both considered safe for consumption by FDA standards. • Jell-o and many “gummy” candies consist mostly of gelatin, a substance made from collagen in cow or pig bones, hooves, and connective tissues.
Use a description • A narrow beam of sunlight manages to shine through the layers of paint smeared on the windows. Mismatched, dirty furniture becomes visible first, followed by shreds of carpet strewn on the rotted wooden floor. Walking across the floor is made more treacherous by exposed needles, used toilet paper and condoms. An extension cord leading to the house next door hangs from a back window, a common method of stealing electricity from neighbors. An overflowing toilet left long unused by humans provides shelter for some of the cockroaches infesting the place. Despite its obvious drawbacks, this house is one of the better places for “squatting,” the only housing option for many homeless in this mid-sized American city.
Ask a provocative question • With an abundance of research and facts about the dangers of smoking, why would anyone continue to smoke? • When does free speech become slander? • Should the gay rights movement be viewed in the same light as the civil rights movement?
Use a unique Definition: • One way to define “obscene material”is to use the Supreme Court's guidelines developed in the 1973 case Miller v. California. If the material is obscene, an “average person” would conclude that:“the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; that the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct, and that the material lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value” (Foreman 67). The phrase "prurient interest" refers to a shameful, morbid, lustful, degrading, or unhealthy interest in sex. "Patently offensive" is more difficult to define. Apparently the idea is that the material offends people because it is perverted or lewd. The last important phrase is “lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value." While this definition seems reasonable on the surface, it begs several questions: Who is the average person? What differentiates healthy sexual interest from “prurient” interest? Which experts should the courts depend upon to determine whether the work lacks “literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”?
Use an Analogy: • (You might employ a striking comparison to make a point or introduce your reader to an unfamiliar topic. Usually, you draw a comparison to something common in order to explain something uncommon or unfamiliar.) • A habitat at Marineland Water Park is a cell not unlike what you'd find at the Kingston Penitentiary, or at the Kent Correctional facility.The difference, of course, is that every inmate at Waterworld has been wrongfully persecuted and incarcerated. The inmates are serving life sentences without having committed any crimes.
Remember… Regardless of which strategy you use, make your introduction enticing and inviting to your reader!
