Different Strategies for Writing Introductions with an example of each
Remember--Every good introduction should lead to the thesis statement!
The introduction "is probably the most important. Its sets the tone and subject, introduces the style, and establishes the voice.
Nancie Atwell In the Middle P 143
Stress the Subject's Importance
(This should lead to the importance of the answer you give to your core question.)
Give an Example or an Anecdote
(This promotes an emotional appeal and should arouse support for the answer you give to your core question.)
Violence is on the rise in America. Every year, hundreds of people are shot, stabbed, or otherwise assaulted. The violence has spread to our schools and onto our freeways. Experts and common folk across the country and around the World ask the most important question - why? Solving this problem It is a choice between civilization and affluence on the one hand, and fear and savagery on the other. Research shows that two factors more than any others lead to a life of violence. The first is the experience of violence in the home while growing up; the second is the amount of exposure to violence in movies, music, and games. The first is difficult to identify and control. The future of our country will depend on how willing we are to regulate violent material.
The story by now is familiar to all Americans, if not to the entire World. Two students enter an upper middle-class high school and begin shooting. After it is all over, the dead lay on the floor - lives have been ended, families are shattered. Later it is discovered that the two were devoted fans of extremely violent films, music, and video games. Were they influenced by their heavy use of this type of material? Can any mind not be influenced when it is immersed and saturated with violence input? It is time to do something about the violence in media--it must be regulated.
Begin with a Question and Answer It
(By beginning with a question, many readers will want to know the answer - which is, of course, the answer you give to your core question.)
Begin by Describing the
Opposite Point of View.
(This is good for controversial topics. It tries to disarm the opponent's viewpoint, and it prepares the reader to accept the answer you give to your core question.)
What is it that causes people to become violent? Why is violence such a problem in today's society? Earlier, many people speculated that poverty was a root cause of violence, but the United States during the depression was a much safer place than our country was during the prosperous nineties. Research now indicates that two factors more than any others lead to a life of violence. The first is the experience of violence in the home while growing up; the second is the amount of exposure to violence in movies, music and games. The first is difficult to identify and control. The future of our country will depend on how willing we are to regulate violent material.
Some people believe that the First Amendment allows for anything. Giving out directions for creating bombs or converting semi-automatic weapons into machine guns is fine because it is protected by the FirstAmendment. Promoting the abuse of women and even children is fine, because the First Amendment protects it. But is this really what the Founding Fathers meant when they gave us this right? No--violent content in the media must be regulated if our society is to survive.
Tell the Subject's History
(This should lead to the answer you give to your core question seeming to be the next logical step).
When our Founding Fathers met in 1786, they were for a long time unable to create an acceptable constitution. The Constitution then was simply not good enough to collect the required amount of signatures - it was not good enough until they added a Bill of Rights that guaranteed freedoms to the common people. So important was the freedom of speech that the Founding Fathers placed it first in the list of rights, tying only with the freedom of religion. Now, through fear, some Americans are ready to abandon that precious right. We must remember that totalitarian governments often do not seize power; they are given the power when the populace was afraid. The First Amendment is something with which we must not tamper.
