The Introduction
The introduction should have three main goals:
Length and formatting
1. The Hook
Try using one of the following techniques to engage the reader in your first sentence or two:
2. Follow your hook with a general statement about your topic
3. Follow your general statement with a more specific statement about your topic
4. Finally, introduce your thesis statement along with its three main supporting ideas
Thesis statement: The Hegelian thesis statement = antithesis + thesis
Sample Introduction (thesis in bold):
As of October 2012, Facebook had over "one billion active users" (Kiss, p. 1). That corresponds to about 15% of the world's population. These figures reflect that social media is key to human communication in contemporary society. The public school is a microcosm of society, and as such, it is essential that students learn to communicate effectively in the classroom, and many scholars support this assertion. Although there are currently many new and useful tools for the classroom, this research paper will argue that social media is the most important technological tool for today's English classroom. As part of their curriculum, English teachers can help students learn how to use social media effectively in the following three ways: by introducing Twitter as a key tool for communicating using clear and concise language; by using the school's on-line portal in order to compose professional emails; and, finally, by creating group projects using the website builder Weebly.com.
- To hook/engage the reader
- To describe the topic
- To introduce the thesis statement and its supporting three main points
Length and formatting
- The introduction should be between 100 and 150 words
- The first line of the paragraph must be indented
- The text must be double-spaced throughout
1. The Hook
Try using one of the following techniques to engage the reader in your first sentence or two:
- a quotation
- a shocking fact or statistic
- an anecdote, illustration, or analogy
- historical information
- a rhetorical question
2. Follow your hook with a general statement about your topic
- How have people generally interpreted or responded to your topic? What does the average population think about the topic (common knowledge)?
3. Follow your general statement with a more specific statement about your topic
- What are you going to do with the topic? How do you (and the critics/scholars you cite) see things?
4. Finally, introduce your thesis statement along with its three main supporting ideas
- Ensure that your thesis statement is clear, to the point, and at least moderately debatable (although this essay is in many ways exploratory, you should still articulate some kind of clear stance on the topic). Ideally, your statement should be followed by the three main ideas you will use to support your thesis (you may include these three main ideas in a separate sentence).
Thesis statement: The Hegelian thesis statement = antithesis + thesis
- Example 1: Although people are aware of the legacy of slavery in the United States, not enough people recognize its impact in Canada.
- Example 2: Although Canadians are slowly reducing sugar consumption and striving to live a better, healthier lifestyle compared to their American counterparts, scientific evidence shows that we also consume too much sugar.
- Example 3: Although there are many threats to our planet today, the disappearance of honeybees is the most worrisome.
- Example 4: While music piracy has in some ways had a negative impact on the music industry, there are actually a number of positive effects on the indie music scene.
- Example 5: Although frequently dismissed as racist and juvenile, South Park is actually an insightful and relevant voice on sociopolitical issues.
- Example 6: Although First Nations have been, and still are, affected by many other issues, the legacy of Residential Schools had the biggest impact on the reservations and the families.
- Example 7: Although it is important to talk about the causes and effects of being obese, talking about how to prevent it in the first place is even more significant.
Sample Introduction (thesis in bold):
As of October 2012, Facebook had over "one billion active users" (Kiss, p. 1). That corresponds to about 15% of the world's population. These figures reflect that social media is key to human communication in contemporary society. The public school is a microcosm of society, and as such, it is essential that students learn to communicate effectively in the classroom, and many scholars support this assertion. Although there are currently many new and useful tools for the classroom, this research paper will argue that social media is the most important technological tool for today's English classroom. As part of their curriculum, English teachers can help students learn how to use social media effectively in the following three ways: by introducing Twitter as a key tool for communicating using clear and concise language; by using the school's on-line portal in order to compose professional emails; and, finally, by creating group projects using the website builder Weebly.com.