The Introduction: some do's and

. . . do notsWelcome to my awesome paper!!!

Welcome to my awesome paper!!!

DO . . .

Do decide on the type of introduction which best fits the theme. You may have to make the final decision and do the final writing after you have written the body (and the conclusion).

Do change the introduction if the newer one will strengthen the theme.

DO

Do funnel the first paragraph into the thesis statement if you are inexperienced. As you grow in knowledge and self‑confidence, then do try another type of introduction if it is appropriate:

Common ways to start “funneling”

an unusual statement/quotation a general explanation of the subject (Use

specific facts and details rather than generalizations.)

More funneling techniques . . .

a general explanation of the subject (Use specific facts and details rather than generalizations.)

a definition (Do use sparingly and with discretion. People do read and do own dictionaries. . .)

a cause and the result(s) a comparison/contrast a series of rhetorical questions or the

funneling into one specific question

If necessary, do use more than one paragraph for the introduction. The number used will depend on the type of introduction needed and on the length of the paper. Normally, short papers (up to one thousand words often) will have a single introductory paragraph.

4. Do appeal to the reader (always have a definite audience in mind for the theme); try to involve the reader by grasping his/her attention, by appealing to his/her human interests, by showing him/her that the subject is a part of his/her life, that the subject is significant to him/her!

Do establish your purpose and your point of view with a thesis statement as often as possible (not all implied theses statements are recognized as such).

Do limit your thesis so that you can deliver all that you promise for the time and the space involved‑‑and for the assignment! Check your thesis statement to see if you understand which part controls the idea.

Position/Thesis

A. Single sentence thesis• Include the word “that”• I want to prove that Hemingway’s Old Man

and the Sea hints that the author would commit suicide.

B. Remove: “I want to prove that”

Do work in somewhere the literary title and its author if your paper is based on such a selection.

-- i.e. “Thomas King’s novel Green Grass, Running Water presents an important re-writing of Western myths about Aboriginal people.”

Do check to see if your introduction controls the type of organization which should be used in the body.

Above all, do believe in your thesis, especially your point of view.

Examples of successful theses (I)Funnelling from general to specific:

Commonly referred to as "chick lit" -the genre that consumers recognize today by its trendy covers and cutesy titles -romantic comedies have evolved from the love stories of the early nineteenth century: namely, novels such as Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. . . .

Austen's novels form the foundation of today's booming industry targeting women, which usually seems only distantly related to Austen, as the modem heroines cavort with several equally promiscuous men, climb corporate ladders, and decide which designer shoes will best help them navigate the treacherous dating game.

In novels such as Sense and Sensibility, the young heroines worry about their marital status with equal intensity and desperation -not because their biological clocks are ticking, but because for them, marriage is a necessity. The importance that society placed on marriage in the early nineteenth century had detrimental effects on the overall well-being of women, as demonstrated by the Dashwoods of Austen's Sense and Sensibility

Finally, the thesis that tells the reader the argument that will be demonstrated The importance that society placed

on marriage in the early nineteenth century had detrimental effects on the overall well-being of women, as demonstrated by the Dashwoods of Austen's Sense and Sensibility

Commonly referred to as "chick lit" -the genre that consumers recognize today by its trendy covers and cutesy titles -romantic comedies have evolved from the love stories of the early nineteenth century; namely, novels such as Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Austen's novels form the foundation of today's booming industry targeting women, which usually seems only distantly related to Austen, as the modem heroines cavort with several equally promiscuous men, climb corporate ladders, and decide which designer shoes will best help them navigate the treacherous dating game. In novels such as Sense and Sensibility, the young heroines worry about their marital status with equal intensity and desperation -not because their biological clocks are ticking, but because for them, marriage is a necessity. The importance that society placed on marriage in the early nineteenth century had detrimental effects on the overall well-being of women, as demonstrated by the Dashwoods of Austen's Sense and Sensibility

Examples of successful theses (II)

A demon is on the loose, There is "something so scarring and unearthly about his ugliness" (240) that one can barely look at him. He is pieced together from the remains ofthose already dead, his yellowish skin barely covering what lies beneath. His appearance is so hideous that it must be concluded that he is both deadly and fiendish, inside and out. Why then does the "monster" seek out his maker in hopes of reasoning with him? Why is he moved to perform acts ofkindness towards those who he barely knows? Perhaps he is not the brute that he has been made out to be.

Now the “Shalt nots” . . .

Do not refer to your title in the introductory paragraph. The title is grammatically independent from the theme.

Do not quote from any dictionary. If necessary, give the definition of a word as you use it in the theme.

Do not use these weak beginnings: It is . . . . . There is I (are) . . . . They lead to wordiness, i.e.

NOT “There are several things that Carol Shields

critiques in The Stone Diaries: women’s roles, storytelling, and memory.”

BUT Carol Shields critiques three things in The

Stone Diaries: women’s roles, storytelling, and memory.”

Do not use a series of sentences not tied together closely through meaning relationships (and linking devices).

Do not use trite approaches such as these: I'm going to describe (discuss) . . . . I shall talk about . . . . The purpose of my paper is . . . . In this paper I shall . . . .