Rosichan – English 120
Exercises on Writing Introductions (From an handout by Robin Neal)
Follow the directions on the handout to do these exercises.
1) For this first one, instead of colored pencils, use the shading tab above (the paint can icon under “paragraph”) and use three different colors to highlight your choices for the Hook, the Bridge, and the Thesis Statement:
“The Clay Marble” Essay
______= Hook Strategy
Reading a book is a bit like experiencing the different seasons throughout the year. As a book progresses, its contents noticeably change. As the end draws closer, white pages do not turn a golden yellow or brilliant orange and fall from the binding, but a careful reader will notice a change in more subtle things like moods, themes, settings, or characters. Authors often use change to emphasize certain lessons they want the reader to understand. “The Clay Marble” is no exception. Minfong Ho purposefully changes her characters in order to highlight key lessons she hopes the readers will learn.
“Down with Posters” Blog Post by Mr. Neal
______= Hook Strategy
I despise glitter, It’s proudly tacky and sinisterly invasive. Once a bedazzled project crosses the threshold of my classroom, the insidious sparkles permanently lodge in every nook and cranny. Months later I look like Lady Gaga because I’ve accidentally scratched my head after brushing up against an errant drift of pixie dust. I ban the stuff. We’ve all seen effective projects carried out in this medium. Engaging visual aids, family trees in foreign languages, and move posters for novels all make sense and can lead to critical thought. I argue, however, that this work becomes more effective and more sophisticated when teachers use web 2.0 tools to increase collaboration, develop authentic audiences, and extend the feedback loop.
A Christmas Carol
______= Hook Strategy
Christmas as many know it today would not exist without Ebenezer Scrooge. Charles Dickens’ holiday story has been very popular since it was first published, and many people believe that this novel’s popularity has shaped many of our current attitudes and rituals at Christmas time. One of the main reasons readers still enjoy this story is because of the dramatic changes that occur to Scrooge’s attitude in just one magical night. In the beginning of the story he is a mean old man who treats people badly and has no friends. On Christmas Eve the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, visits him and warns him about the consequences of his behavior, He also foretells the visit of three ghosts, suggesting that Scrooge can avoid a terrible fate if he is willing to change. At the end of the novel Ebenezer Scrooge is a completely different man who has learned valuable lessons and who treats people the same way wants to be treated.
2) For the second part of this assignment, you will be use the following list of random topics, along with the lists of thesis statements and hook strategies included in the handout to follow the directions in the handout to write sample introductions. You can choose your own combinations, but you must choose at least 3 different combinations of topics, hook strategies, and thesis statements to write at least 3 different sample introductions (Of course, you are always allowed to do more for extra practice, but it is not required).
Random Topics:
Trucks
Time
Cooking
Napping
Clowns
Losing Weight
Anger
True Love
Space Travel
The Millennial Generation
The challenge in this task is to somehow connect the random topic into a hook that you can transition into one of the thesis statements with an effective bridge (from the random topic to the thesis). Here’s an example for you:
Random Topic – Fishing
Hook Strategy – Metaphor
Thesis – Today many children today expect “instant gratification” of their desires, and competitive sports can help to teach children to work and wait for satisfaction.
Introduction Paragraph
Patience is a “must have” commodity when fishing. Fish do not have a habit of jumping onto the waiting hook to invite their own demise, so sometimes a fisherman must try different tactics – different lures or bait, different spots, different approaches – to lure their prey from the safety of the water into the sizzle of the pan.Life is much like fishing, since things often don’t work out right the first time, and you have to adjust, try again, and wait for the favored result. In life, like in fishing, patience and work are often needed to accomplish your objectives. In this age of “instant gratification,” it is sometimes difficult to convince our children that success really comes after hard work, and it usually comes over time, not right away. One way to show children the value of patience is to get them involved in competitive sports.Today many children today expect “instant gratification” of their desires, and competitive sports can help to teach children to work and wait for satisfaction.
Hook – Yellow
Bridge – Light Green
Thesis – Light Blue
Color-coding is for your convenience, and not required by you for exercise 2.
Write your sample paragraphs on the page following:
Random Topic 1:Hook Strategy 1:
Thesis 1:
Sample Paragraph 1:
Random Topic 2:Hook Strategy 2:
Thesis 2:
Sample Paragraph 2:
Random Topic 3:Hook Strategy 3:
Thesis 3:
Sample Paragraph 3: