EXAMINING PARTS OF AN ESSAY

2.1. INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

Introductory paragraph has two goals – to get the reader interested and to let the reader know what the essay will be about. Introductions are “the first impression” the reader gets about the essay. To write an interesting and catching introduction you do not have to write it first. Many people prefer first writing the body and then work at the introduction.

The common way is to begin the introduction with general statements that introduce the topic. The thesis statement is commonly placed at the end of the introductory paragraph and has two or three controlling (limiting) ideas: A, B, C.

Task 6

Read an example introduction and answer the following questions.

Imagine life in Kyiv. Now imagine life in a small Ukrainian village. Finally, picture Warsaw. Which of these last two places is more different from Kyiv? Many people might mistakenly choose Warsaw because it is in a different country. In fact, people living in big cities all over the world tend to have similar lifestyles, so the biggest difference is between Kyiv and a small Ukrainian village. Urban dwellers and rural dwellers, regardless of the country, live quite differently. Perhaps, some of the most notable differences in the lifestyles of these two groups include degree of friendliness, pace of life, and variety of activities.

Questions:

1. How many sentences are there in the introduction?

2. What sentence serves to catch the reader’s attention?

3. What is the thesis statement?

4. What topic does the thesis statement introduce? Underline the topic in the thesis statement.

5. What are the controlling ideas? Underline ideas A, B, C.

6. What first impression about the essay can be gotten from the introduction?

2.2. BEGINNING AN INTRODUCTION

There are different styles of beginning an introduction:

1. Begin with a quotation. Just make sure you explain its relevance (“To be or not to be; that is the question”).

2. Begin with a question (e.g., How many people today are suffering from lung cancer?).

3. Begin with an acknowledgment of an opinion opposite to the one you plan to take (My friend and I shouldn’t have been walking home alone so late on that dark winter night).

4. Begin with a very short narrative or anecdote that has a direct bearing on your paper. It may also be an example from your own life (All birthdays in my life were very funny, I celebrated them either with my friends or relatives and usually got a lot of presents).

5. Begin with an interesting fact (Though many people are afraid of AIDS today, it is not the desease that kills the bigger number of people).

6. Begin with a definition or explanation of a term relevant to your paper.

7. Begin with irony or paradox (An average American is proud of being American, and eager to talk about American products. However, the average American drives a Japanese or German car, wears cotton jeans made in Bangladesh and watches favourite programs on a Japanese television set.)

NOTE: there are some important rules that should be followed when writing an introduction:

1. There must be at least three sentences in the introduction.

2. Introductory sentences must talk about the topic.

3. Introduction should not confuse the reader.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 1217