Prof. Rodas walks through the steps of a three-part introductory paragraph: Example, thesis + paper overview. Designed for composition students at CUNY's Bronx Community College.

1. HOW TO WRITE AN
INTRODUCTION
Julia Miele Rodas
Bronx Community College / CUNY

2. what IS an introduction?

3. what IS an introduction?
Imagine your essay is a person.
The introduction is your essay’s chance to say
“hello” and let the reader know a little bit about
itself.

4. there’s no ONE way to write an introduction
these slides give an overview of
a single effective technique
try different methods and styles depending on
the paper, your personal strengths, and
what works in the moment
strategy

5. three-part structure
 Introductions can be composed using a three-
part structure:
1. an example or story
2. the thesis
3. a summary of the paper

7. start with a brief story
 grab your reader’s interest &
 help them understand the
main idea of your paper by
…
 telling a story,
 sharing a memory,
 or summarizing a significant
moment from a text

8. Make sure the story or example is
connected to the main idea of the paper!
what kind of story should I
use?
Keep it brief and focused—stick to the
point.

10. thesis
The second part of the introductory paragraph is
a single sentence called a “thesis” that tells the
main idea of the paper.
A thesis might answer one of these questions
What’s the big point you want to prove?
How does the example show a larger problem?
What does this story teach us?

11. summariz
e
the
main
points
of the
paper

12. Finish the introductory paragraph by mentioning the
main points you talk about in your essay. This is like
a little “map” of the essay coming up.
show where you’re going

13. sample introductory
paragraph…
 When I was a little kid, just turned eight, my little brother--who was
four--was attacked by our next door neighbor. He was badly burned
and blinded and he spent months in the hospital fighting for his life. I
used to think this was a personal story, that it was about me, about
my brother, and about my family. Until a few years ago, I never
thought very much about our neighbor, the guy who hurt him. At the
time this happened, in New York City in the 1970s, he was seen as
“crazy” and as a “criminal.” He was put in a psychiatric hospital, his
family moved away, and he died when he was just 43. I feel very
sad now, thinking of this 24-year-old guy, a former Brooklyn College
student, an Army veteran, clearly having a psychiatric crisis and just
as clearly not getting the help he needed. I’m happy to see that
American society is slowly changing to acknowledge psychiatric
disability and to see the full humanity of people with psychiatric
disabilities, but there is still much more to be done. In this short
paper, I will talk more about my own experience and the way I see
attitudes about psychiatric disability changing. I’ll also be discussing
“When Your Hospital-Borne Infection Is a Bullet,” an episode of This
American Life that helps prove how far away we really are from
accepting people with psychiatric disabilities, especially when
they’re people of color.
1. start with
an example
3. What’s ahead? Two-three
sentence overview of other
examples you’ll use
2.
thesis
or
main
point
of the
paper
you might also
need to add a
transition

14. NEED
MORE
HELP?
thanks for
studying!
See a sample
introduction with Julia’s
notes
+
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