Improving Our Improving Our Intros!Intros!

The End to Boring, Lame, and Completely Unoriginal Introductions for Papers in

English

Think of the Inverted TriangleThink of the Inverted Triangle

• Attention Getter

• Lead into Thesis

• Thesis

Example Introduction Example Introduction ParagraphParagraph

At Oswego East High School, it is easy to feel isolated, judged, and misunderstood. Many students go through their high school careers feeling ambiguous about growing up.

This situation is similar for the character Jing-Mei in Amy Tan’s short story, “Two Kinds” and Roger in Langston Hughes’s story “Thank You Ma’am.” The stories describe two different adolescents struggling

with their identities. Both have to overcome obstacles and repair relationships with people in order to move on in life.

Jing-mei and Roger share traits that, in the end, help them both learn to become better people in the future.

Attention GettersAttention Getters

• Goal: Make your paper relevant to your readers! Why should I invest my time in reading what you have to say?

• Good ideas: – Relevant example/connection to the real

world– Allusion to another literary work

• Bad ideas (turns your reader off): Questions, beginning with your thesis

Connections, Connections, Connections!

Think of people, situations, examples that are TEXT (to short story) to self, world, or text! Those are ALWAYS great attention getters!

Examples & AnecdotesExamples & AnecdotesYour AG can…Your AG can…• Use an example or anecdote of someone who learned from their mistakes (A parent? A president? A celebrity?)

• Use an example or anecdote of someone who was judged and stereotyped but was able to overcome that persecution (A historical figure?)

• Use an example or anecdote of someone that goes through a difficult experience that changes the way they see the world (A sibling? A friend?)

• Use an example or anecdote of someone who matured as they got older (A character in a movie?)

Lead into ThesisLead into Thesis

• Goal: Set up what your essay is about

• Good ideas: – Set up your entire paper

• Novel and author should be stated

– Summarize the issue at hand– Describe the issue

Example Introduction Example Introduction ParagraphParagraph

Friends always help each other out but what if that help involves euthanasia? In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, two friends travel together while working on ranches. George is left to take care of Lennie due to his mental disability but in the end George has to kill him in order to protect everyone from any further damage. For this reason George makes a more humane decision by killing Lennie peacefully because he is protecting Lennie from pain, protecting others from harm, and protecting George from any more troubles.

Example Introduction Example Introduction ParagraphParagraph

Many people will do anything for their friends even when it involves hard decisions to help their friend. In the novella Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, two friends travel together and do a lot for each other. One is left with the hardest decision to make for his friend, whether or not to his friend should be euthanized. It is justified for George to euthanize Lennie because Lennie would be locked up or killed, it is the least painful way to die and Lennie kills a person.