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?
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.
Suggested answer:
Should we limit the use of internet in schools? The use of this technology in academic contexts is often debated, and many teachers who did not grow up with the internet see the potentially harmful effects it may have on the students. For many students, it has become a major source of distraction. But the internet has also created many learning opportunities that didn't exist before. Internet technology has both positive and negative sides, but do the positive sides outweigh the negative? In order to explore these issues in more depth, this paper will introduce and evaluate arguments for both sides, while presenting research supporting the different views.
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