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Introduction

The introduction has three parts:

1. Hook, Lead, or Connect

2. Transition, Bridge, or Summary

3. Thesis/ Claim (SOaR - Subject, Opinion, and Reason)

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The lead is a broad introduction that starts the reader thinking about the topic. It can "hook" your reader's interest or "lead" them into your topic. Use the lead to connect the ideas of your essay to something the reader may already be familiar with: text-to-text; text-to-self; text-to-world.

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The prompts for the 7th grade Writing STAAR test always began with a quote, such as "A famous businessman once said, 'Players win games; teams win championships' ", giving students their lead. (The essay prompt that followed was: WRITE an essay explaining whether it is better to work by yourself or with a group.)

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The ThinkCERCA writing program begins with a connect, "Describe a time when you argued about something with a parent or teacher. Think about what you did or said to them that was convincing and what wasn't." (The prompt that followed was: How did the SCLC and SNCC successfully work to get the Voting Rights Act passed?)

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You can see how, in both cases, the first bits of directions give the students an idea to start their essay with that will get the reader thing in general terms about the topic of the essay.

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But what is a student to do when they're given nothing? 

Our beloved Grammarly suggests:

(1)Starting with a shocking or amusing fact

(This doesn't help on a standardized test when students are not allowed outside resources, so I will say nothing else about it.); 

 

(2) Dramatize a scene: 

"The rain pounded against the roof, loudly drowning out any conversations we attempted to have. I’d promised them I’d play the latest song I wrote for guitar, but Mother Earth prevented any concert from happening that night.”  

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“Imagine you’ve just gotten off an airplane. You’re hot, you’re tired, you’re uncomfortable, and suddenly, you’re under arrest.”

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This I actually like. I often start example essays with, "Imagine....."

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(3) A quote:

The Writing STAAR, as mentioned above, gave students a quote, but like statistics, if you don't have something memorized, you're out of luck on standardized tests. However, you can certainly use them when you're allowed internet access.

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(4) State your thesis directly:

We don't like that in middle school, but at least you'll know you have a thesis.

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(5) Ask a question:

This is the most difficult for students. So much so, that a university in New Zeland has this to say:

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Responding to an essay question with more questions is annoying. So, try to avoid posing direct rhetorical questions to the reader in an essay. These are usually tiresome to read because they shift the burden of answering the question to the reader when the reader just wants to sit back and let you do that. Rhetorical questions are useful for the person writing the essay (i.e. they help you come to grips with the topic), but it is best to rephrase them as statements or as indirect questions.

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In an essay about personality traits, one student wrote

What would someone say if someone asked what your personality is like? Many people struggle to find the right words to describe their personality.

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The question adds nothing to the conversation. The student should just begin with the second sentence.

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How would you describe your personality? The article discusses the five personality types using the acronym OCEAN.

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In this case, not only does the question add nothing to the introduction, it's asked and then ignored.

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How many personality traits do you use in your daily life? People are able to have multiple personality traits from the big 5: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

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Once again, the question does nothing for the reader.

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The transition connects the lead to the thesis by introducing the text the essay is based on. It bridges the two parts of the introduction and can be a simple summary of the passage.

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Going back to the Writing STAAR, READ the following quotation is followed by THINK carefully about the following statement.

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In our example about working in groups, the statement is Sometimes you can accomplish good things by yourself but better things with other people.

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This sentence can serve as the transition from the hook to the thesis.

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A famous businessman once said, “Players win games; teams win championships" and though it's true that you can achieve a lot with other people, sometimes you can accomplish good things simply by working by yourself.

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In ThinkCERCA, students write a summary of the passage. After writing a connect about convincing parents of this or that, the student incorporates the summary into the introduction.

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After explaining to my parents how useful it would be to have my own cellphone, they bought me one. The right persuasive approach/ argument can achieve much. For example, in the early Sixties, Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Black American leaders, along with college students and white supporters, were able to use various persuasive techniques to ultimately lead to the passing of the Voting Rights Act.

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When writing a text-based response with no additional assistance, the student can still write a brief summary of the passage as a transition.

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The thesis contains the subject of the essay, the opinion that is being discussed, and the supporting reasons. We like the acronym SOaR: Subject, Opinion, and Reason. It is the answer to the prompt.

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The origins of many traditions followed today are often not known or practiced anymore. Some people celebrate Christmas without any regard to Jesus, and most girls celebrating their Quincenera have no intention of getting married right away. Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery," tells about a small village that follows a disturbing tradition every June. However, the behavior of the characters reinforces the theme that traditions are often followed long after it's forgotten why they were established because they've forgotten many parts of the lottery and seem much less enthusiastic than they should.