Engaging Beginnings/Introductions

Courtesy of Doug Fisher

Today’s Purpose:

Content: To understand 12 kinds of introductions used in narrative, explanatory, and argumentative writing. Language: To construct notes in order to make writerly decisions about tomorrow’s essay.

Action

Events happening from the onset.

“For a long time the horizon had been a monotonous flat blue line separating the Pacific Ocean from the sky. The Navy helicopter raced forward, flying low, near the waves. Despite the noise and the thumping vibration of the blades, Norman Johnson fell asleep. He was tired; he had been traveling on various aircraft for more than fourteen hours. It was not the kind of thing a fifty-three year-old professor of psychology was used to.”

-Intro. to Michael Crichton’s Sphere

Anecdote

An amusing or biographical tale.

“...there must be a beginning to any tale; and the story of my sojourn amongst the wolves begins properly in Granny’s bathroom…One hot summer day I was meandering aimlessly beside a little local creek when I came upon a stagnant pool. In the bottom, and only just covered with green scum, three catfish lay gasping out their lives…I was so impressed by their stubborn refusal to accept their fate that I found a tin can…I was driven to ‘finding temporary lodging for them in Granny’s toilet.”

-Excerpt from Farley Mowat’s Never Cry Wolf

Description

A “showing, not telling” description of a place, event, or character.

“Jack Plank was an out of work pirate. He’d had a job, and a good job, too, on a lovely ship called the Avarice. But the thing is, Jack wasn’t good at plundering. There’s only one way to plunder: You have to yell and make faces and rattle your sword, and once you’ve got people scared, you take things away from them. That’s what pirates do. But Jack didn’t seem to have a knack for it.”

- Intro to Jack Plank Tells Tales by Natalie Babbitt

Detail

An attentive, focused look at something in

particular.

“Although she herself was ill enough to justify being in bed had she been a person weak-minded enough to give up, Rose Sayer could see that her brother, the Reverend Samuel Sayer, was far more ill. He was very, very weak indeed, and when he knelt to offer up the evening prayer the movement was more like an involuntary collapse than a purposed gesture, and the hands which he raised trembled violently. Rose could see, in the moment before she devoutly closed her eyes, how thin and transparent those hands were, and how the bones of the wrists could be seen with almost the definition of a skeleton’s.”

-Opening of C.S. Forester’s, The African Queen

Dialogue A significant conversation between or among characters.

“Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive. Mr. Vernon Dursley had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud, hooting noise from his nephew Harry’s room.

‘Third time this week!’ he roared across the table. ‘If you can’t control that owl, it’ll have to go!’

Harry tried yet again to explain. ‘She’s bored,’ he said. ‘She’s used to flying around

outside. If I could just let her out at night-‘‘Do I look stupid?’ snarled Uncle Vernon, a bit of

fried egg dangling from his bushy mustache. ‘I know what’ll happen if that owl’s let out.’”

-Opening to The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Emotion

A profound feeling.

“No person has ever walked our earth and been free from the pains of loneliness. Rich and poor, wise and ignorant, faith-filled and agnostic, healthy and unhealthy have all alike had to face and struggle with its potentially paralyzing grip. It has granted no immunities. To be human is to be lonely.”

- Introduction to The Restless Heart by Ronald Rolheiser

Interesting Fact

Some noteworthy evidence.

The Pentagon has twice as many bathrooms as are necessary. The famous government building was constructed in the 1940s, when segregation laws required that separate bathrooms be installed for people of African descent. This building isn’t the only American icon that harkens back to this embarrassing and hurtful time in our history. Across the United States there are many examples of leftover laws and customs that reflect the racism that once permeated American society.

Question

A query that elicits thinking about your topic or theme.

Are you ever bothered by the excessive violence on prime time television? Many people today are outraged at how much violence is on TV. It seems as if we cannot get away from the blood, horror, and violence associated with murder, crime, and mayhem. Many people are choosing to turn off their TV, especially during prime time.

Quotation

A passage, excerpt, or selection from a recognized source or person.

Hillary Rodham Clinton once said “There cannot be true democracy unless women's voices are heard.” In 2006, when Nancy Pelosi became the nation’s first female Speaker of the House, one woman’s voice rang out clear. With this development, democracy grew to its truest level ever in terms of women’s equality. The historical event also paved the way for Senator Clinton as she warmed her own vocal chords in preparation for a presidential race.

Setting Time and place where action occurs.

When many people hear the word Africa, they picture steaming jungles and gorillas. Hollywood films have shrunk the public image of this immense, varied continent into a small segment of its actual diversity. To have a more accurate picture of the whole continent, however, one should remember that there are, roughly, three Africas, each with its distinct climate and terrain and with a style of life suited to the environment. The continent can be divided into the northern desert areas, the southeastern grasslands, and the tropical jungles to the southwest.

Startling Statement

A shocking, astounding, extraordinary, or unusual statement.

Have a minute? Good. Because that may be all it takes to save the life of a child—your child. Accidents kill nearly 8000 children under age 15 each year. And for every fatality, 42 more children are admitted to hospitals for treatment. Yet such deaths and injuries can be avoided through these easy steps parents can take right now. You don't have a minute to lose.

Thoughts

Deep thoughts, worthy of note.

Many say that when you learn how to die, you learn how to live. When thinking about life we often think about death. The opposite is also true. It is certainly true that at many peoples’ funerals, their life is recalled. In fact, many of these gatherings are called “celebrations of life.”