Interesting Introductions!

3 Elements of a Good Intro

Begin with some sort of hook to draw in your reader—what is most interesting about your topic?

Continue with some general background information about your novel(s) or your topic. For this essay, definitely need to include definition of the term you will be using to give your reader some context for why that term applies throughout the essay.

Then lead into your claim/thesis, which will be the last sentence of your introduction.

The Introduction

The hook

The background

The claim

Your introduction should start general and then get more specific, ending with your very focused

claim statement.

What’s our focus?

Celebrity – What is a celebrity/role model/hero/legend/infamy? What traits make up that term? This is the focus of your introduction!

Your claim and body paragraphs will involve telling us whether your person is or is not worthy; therefore, we need to establish the criteria in our introduction.

Bad Introduction – WHY?

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, many Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps. These camps, although often associated with concentration camps, offered the United States the ability to question and gather those who they felt were a cause for concern. What the U.S. did not take into account was that out of fear, they would accuse and “jail” thousands of innocents in the country that they loved. One of these innocents was a girl named Junie, who narrated the novel Farewell to Manzanar.

The HOOK

Your hook needs to immediately grab the reader’s attention. Consider using:– A startling statement– An interesting anecdote– A meaningful quote– A modern connection– A strong & valid question

Sample HookOur definition of celebrity is skewed.Today, anyone can be a celebrity, all

they need to do is something that others will notice. But is that really all it should take?

Stephen Hawking once said, “We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star.” In order to be worthy of celebrity, we need to not act like monkeys.

Hook

In modern society, people often look to the tabloids or media to define who they should consider a celebrity or a person worthy of celebrity status. But having one tell the collective what to think or believe is wrong.

Background information

Connect your hook to the novel(s) or character(s) you will be discussing.

Be sure to include author names and work titles.

Give a brief summary of the work and/or its themes.

If necessary, provide context for the work by discussing when/where/why it was written.

Traits

Fights for others’ rightsWell-known throughout all agesWell-known throughout the worldPositive role model

Background Knowledge

TRANSITIONS between the hook and what the claim will be. Provides examples/definitions of celebrity traits

The media often considers celebrities people who have a shock and awe approach or who are scandalous, people like Miley Cyrus or Kim Kardashian. Or people who have hurt others and get hours of on-air time and magazine covers like the man who shot up the movie theater in Aurora, a man who’s name does not deserve to be mentioned in this essay. A celebrity is not someone like the aforementioned; a celebrity should be so much more. A celebrity, to me, is a person who has made an impact on our world, but in a positive way. I don’t feel we should look up to those who have hurt others, nor give them the satisfaction of being known. A celebrity is also a person who is well known through the world, and across all ages, for their positive impact. People who embrace this quality are people like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Princess Diana. People who are loved for fighting for a cause, and for devoting their energy into making this world a better place.

Claim Statement Review

Your claim must be a statement (NOT a question).

Your claim must be arguable.It must be provable.Your claim is the focus of your entire

paper; everything you write must relate back to this statement.

CLAIM (from Flocabulary)

Claim – What I’m proving

One person who has recently come to my attention is a girl named Jeanne, the author of the novel Farewell to Manzanar, who experienced internment camps during 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She was a U.S. citizen, but a Japanese American, and she wrote her tale of what she experienced. Jeanne is not an example of a celebrity.

Example IntroductionIn modern society, people often look to the tabloids or media to

define who they should consider a celebrity or a person worthy of celebrity status. But having one tell the collective what to think or believe is wrong. The media often considers celebrities people who have a shock and awe approach or who are scandalous, people like Miley Cyrus or Kim Kardashian. Or people who have hurt others and get hours of on-air time and magazine covers like the man who shot up the movie theater in Aurora, a man who’s name does not deserve to be mentioned in this essay. A celebrity is not someone like the aforementioned; a celebrity should be so much more. A celebrity, to me, is a person who has made an impact on our world, but in a positive way. I don’t feel we should look up to those who have hurt others, nor give them the satisfaction of being known. A celebrity is also a person who is well known through the world, and across all ages, for their positive impact. People who embrace this quality are people like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Princess Diana. People who are loved for fighting for a cause, and for devoting their energy into making this world a better place. One person who has recently come to my attention is a girl named Jeanne, the author of the novel Farewell to Manzanar, who experienced internment camps during 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She was a U.S. citizen, but a Japanese American, and she wrote her tale of what she experienced. Jeanne is not an example of a celebrity.

ANOTHER Example Introduction

In September of 2014, one of the greatest baseball players of this generation retired from the sport. Derek Jeter, after twenty-years as a New York Yankee, decided it was time to hang up the cleats and pinstripe uniform to move on to other things. Very few can argue how much of a role model he is. A role model is a person who inspires others to be great, someone who has a clear set of values, is committed to community, and has the ability to overcome obstacles (Price-Mitchell). With this definition, Derek Jeter is undeniably worthy of being a role model.

Breakdown

Hook Background – defines what _______ is

to you (traits of the term you chose)Claim – transition from talk about

general definition of ________ to YOUR person and whether he/she IS/NOT worthy of _________ (term).