Question

. What are some ways in which you can hook your readers in the introductory paragraph? 10 points

Answer 1

Tell a Story. Many professional articles (and speeches) begin with a brief story about someone who
has been affected by the writer’s topic. Readers pay attention to stories, which can make abstract
information seem personal and important. You can use your own story, if you’ve got a relevant one,
or you can use the story of someone you’ve spoken to or read about. You can even make up a story,
so long as you make it clear that that’s what you’re doing. (“The light turns green. Frustrated, the
student inches ahead, peering between the parked cars for any glimpse of a space. Late again, she
finally parks at Holt Arena and takes the bus down. While this student is imaginary, her experience is
typical.”)

Describe a Scene. Describing a scene is a lot like telling a story, except that everything is
happening at the same time. You might begin a paper about seatbelt laws by describing a car
accident, for example, or a paper on a river dam by describing a lake or canyon.

Use a Vivid Quotation. If you open with someone else’s story, you can let them tell it in their own
words. Alternatively, you can begin your essay with an interesting quotation from a book, movie, or
other source and explain how it connects to the point you’re making. If you’re writing about a book or
other text, you might choose to start with a quotation from it, instead. Do not open your paper with a
dictionary definition.

Ask a Question. While this strategy is sometimes overused, it can still be a valuable one. It often
works best when you show that you’re taking the question seriously by discussing possible answers
to it, in your introduction or elsewhere in your paper.

Offer an Unexpected or Unfamiliar Fact. Most readers would like to gain some new information or
insight from reading your paper, so their attention can be easily caught by an unfamiliar fact. A paper
on criminal sentences given for domestic crimes, therefore, could begin with an observation like, “In
1910, it was legal in every state to shoot your wife if you caught her in adultery.”

Make a Paradoxical Statement. “Most law-abiding citizens break at least three laws a day.” Any
opening sentence which makes your readers stop and think will accomplish your goal of getting their
attention!

Open with the Opposing Viewpoint. Whether it’s "Skiing looks like a lot of trouble to learn," or
“Many people believe that they cannot get all the nutrients they need from a vegetarian diet,” opening
with your opponent’s point of view can be a useful strategy. It helps you establish yourself a writer
who’s aware of different positions and whose own opinion, therefore, is likely to be informed and
thoughtful.

List a series of examples. You can build up to your thesis by opening with several examples of that
claim in action: in a paper discussing gastric bypass surgery, for example, you might begin by naming
several people who have had the surgery and the amount of weight each has lost--or the
complications each has experienced.

Answer 2

Use a Vivid Quotation. grab the readers interest so they can read what you have wrote.