Day 5: The Thesis Statement (cont.) + Introductions

Objectives:
* To review what we learned about thesis statements last class.
* To continue learning about how to write an effective thesis statement.
* To be aware of parallelism.
* To practice identifying and creating thesis statements.
* To introduce Introductions.

I. Review:
What is the purpose or purposes of the thesis statement?
a. _____________________________________
b. _____________________________________

Where do we write the thesis statement? __________________________________


Practice: Work on Handouts 1 - 4.


II. Parallelism

"If two or more ideas are parallel, they should be expressed in parallel grammatical form. Single words should be balanced with single words, phrases with phrases, clauses with clauses" (Hacker, 1995).

A kiss can be a comma, a question mark, or an exclamation point.
-Mistinguett

This novel is not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with great force.
-Dorothy Parker

In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current.
-Thomas Jefferson

Practice:
First individually and then in pairs, examine the following sentences and correct for parallelism if necessary:

1. Abused children commonly exhibit one or more of the following symptoms: withdrawal, rebelliousness, restlessness, and they are depressed.

2. Esperanza is responsible for stocking merchandise, writing orders for delivery, and sales of computers.

3. After assuring us that he was sober, San drove down the middle of the road, ran one red light, and two stops signs.

(All examples taken from Hacker's A Writer's Reference).



See Purdue Writing Lab.



IV. The Introduction

Turn to the person next to you and introduce yourself saying something else than your name.

Introductions to essays work the same way:

• Intros create a first, lasting impression.
• Readers use it to form expectations of what the essay is about and the approach the author uses.

Introductions have several important jobs:

• Present the subject
• Catch the reader’s interest
• Express the writer’s viewpoint
• Convey the writer’s attitude about the subject

They may also:

• Present the thesis statement (English writing!)
• Provide background information for the reader

How can a writer catch a reader’s interest in the introduction of their paper:

1. Ask a provocative or disturbing question
2. Begin with a story or anecdote
3. Offer a quotation
4. Cite a little-known or shocking fact or statistic
5. Move from general to specific
6. State a commonly held misconception or a position that you oppose
7. Describe a hypothetical situation
8. Begin with an intriguing statement
9. Begin with a striking example
10. Make a comparison

Things writers should avoid in introductions (what makes introductions boring?)

• Don’t simply write sentences to fill a space, like vague generalities or repetition and then rely entirely on your thesis sentence to get moving. You may have needed a warm-up paragraph to start drafting, but your readers can do without it.

• Don’t start with “The purpose of this essay is…”, “In this essay I will…”, or any similar flat announcements of your intention or topic.

• Don’t start with “According to Webster’s Dictionary…” or a similar phrase leading to a dictionary definition. A definition can be an effective springboard to an essay, but this kind of lead-in has become dull with overuse.

• Keep your introduction to one (and no more than two) paragraphs. Anything that goes beyond two paragraphs will probably sound long-winded and make your readers impatient.

• Avoid a casual, overly familiar, or chatty tone. Opening comments such as, “Man, did it surprise me when…” or “You’ll never in a million years believe what happened…” are not appropriate in academic essays.

• Be sure your topic is clear or explained adequately for your readers. Don’t begin an essay by stating, for example, “I oppose Proposition 413 and urge you to vote against it.” Before stating your position on your topic, you need to explain to readers what that legislation is and what it proposes.

Homework:
A. Bring your diagnostic test tomorrow. You will be working in improving your introduction.

B. Textbooks can often be thought of as giant research papers. They have many of the same parts as a research paper, including an introduction. Students should choose a textbook from another one of their classes, choose one chapter, and read the “introduction” section for homework. Students should answer the following questions based on the introduction they read:

1)
What is the purpose of the chapter?

2)
How will the topics be organized in the chapter?

3)
By combining #1 and #2, write a thesis statement for the chapter.

4)
After reading the introduction, are you interested in reading the rest of the chapter? What does the author do to capture your interest? OR What does the author do that bores you?

5)
What information does the author put in the introduction? Why?



Sources:
Hacker, D. (1995). A Writer's Reference. Third Edition. Bedford Books. Boston.

Rosado, C. (2011). Thesis Statement. UIUC Writing TA Resources Website.
http://esl115ta.blogspot.com/2012/01/thesis-statements.html

The Purdue On line Writing Lab (OWL). (2011).
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Tschopp, J. (2011). Introductions. UIUC Writing TA Resources Website.
http://esl115ta.blogspot.com/2010/08/day-5.html