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Tasks: Writing Introduction Paragraphs

Sketch of three people working on a computer and reading books. — Bilde: Siren Halvorsen / CC BY-SA 4.0

Discuss:

Below, you are presented with three different introductions for an essay discussing penalties for drunk driving in the United States.

For each of the introductions, identify the hook, the bridge and the thesis statement. Determine which hook technique has been used in each of the three examples.
Which of the three introductions do you find most effective? Why? Is there anything you would have changed?

Example 1:

A few weeks back, we could read in the newspaper about Anne (24), a popular and bright medical student, who was hit by a car and killed on her way to the university. The driver was a 17-year-old boy who had been binging for days before he took his father’s car for a spin. This was the third fatal accident caused by drunk driving this month. Sadly, Anne’s story is not an isolated case. Every day, about 29 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes, and while there is an overall decrease in the number of fatalities, there is still work to do before everyone can feel safe on the streets. This paper puts forwards the argument that drunk-driving laws must be adjusted to enforce stricter penalties for anyone found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol. This claim will be supported by exploring how drunk driving leads to premature deaths, serious injuries, and billions of dollars spent on medical expenses.

Example 2:

Every day, 29 people in the United States die in car accidents that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This is the equivalent of one death every 50 minutes. In addition to the human sufferings that these accidents result in, the annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $44 billion. The number of drunk-driving accidents have been going down in the past few years, but the number of fatalities is still too high, and the consequences are still devastating for the victims of DUI*. In this paper, we will be looking at the far-reaching consequences of drunk-driving for the individual, for the community and for society at large, and ask the question whether stricter penalties should be enforced for anyone found guilty of drunk-driving.

*DUI = Driving under the influence

Example 3:

“Education is important, but we’re to the point where almost everyone knows they shouldn’t drink and drive. The people who are still doing it are choosing to do it. The most effective way to deal with them is to arrest them”. These are the strong words of David Kelly, who lost his son in 2015 when a drunk driver lost control of his car. Although laws differ from state to state, the consequences of being charged with DUI have increased in all parts of the United States. Still, in spite of larger fines and longer licence suspension periods, there are still 10 000 people killed every year as a result of drunk driving. What more can we do to reduce the number of victims? Should the penalties be made even stricter than they are today?

Write:

It's not easy to write a good introduction. Below you will find an introduction that is not very good.

Work together in pairs or small groups.

Discuss: What is wrong with this introduction? Is there anything you would like to remove or change? Is there anything you would like to add?
Work alone or together and rewrite the introduction. Start with a good hook, then include a few sentences with background information before you present the thesis statement. You are free to include or leave out information you find relevant or irrelevant.
Compare your final answers with each other and with the suggested introduction presented below.

In this text I’m going to write about the internet. We talked in class about how the internet has changed the world of education, and my teacher told us how he had grown up without the internet. He said that teaching is more challenging with the internet than without it. According to Wikipedia, the origins of the internet date back to the United States Department of Defence in the 1960s, and it has developed a lot since then. Today, about 3.5 billion people in the world are online. That’s a lot. I’m not sure if the internet is a positive or a negative thing, but I hope we can find out this by the end of this text.

Write and compare:

Imagine that your teacher has asked you to write an essay about the following:

For many years there has been a considerable conflict between politicians, farmers, and animal rights activists in Norway regarding the protection of wolves.

Write an essay where you discuss to what extent wolves in Norway should be protected.

You are now going to write the introduction to this essay.

Choose one of the starting hooks below, or find one of your own. In your introduction, remember to include a bridge between the hook and the thesis statement.

(Remember: do not start your introduction with 'In this essay I am going to write about ...')
Compare your introduction with those of other students and give each other peer feedback. Would you change any part of your own introduction?

Hooks:

According to Aftenposten, the number of wolves in Norway has been reduced by 50% in the last ten years.
What is our responsibility as a nation to preserve these wild animals?
Every year, more people are killed by falling coconuts than by hungry wolves.
Why should it be more dangerous to live in the countryside than in the city?
“Humanity can no longer stand by in silence while our wildlife is being used, abused and exploited. It is time we all stand together, to be the voice of the voiceless before it's too late. Extinction means forever.” (Paul Oxton, founder of WHWF*)
What is most important: the livelihood of our farmers or the wildlife of Norway?
The last documented case of a person in Norway killed by a pack of wolves happened on 28. December in 1800.

*Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation

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Writing Introduction Paragraphs

An article that will help you write a good introduction to your essay.

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