Lecture from Wed October 5. Introduction

1. Agenda 10/5/11 1. GED Practice 2. Discuss HW 3. Dissecting the Thesis Statement 4. Writing Attention Grabbers and Thesis Statement Tomorrow: Spelling Quiz!

3. Introduction Remember: Attention Grabber Thesis

4. Ideas for Grabbers 1. Begin with a quotation or catchy saying. Good for take-home essays This allows you to use someone else’s awesome words to grab a reader’s attention. These quotes can be from famous people or people you know.

5. Make Sure… not to use this method all the time; it will get stale if you do. to identify the person you quote your quotation is SHORT! to choose a quote that is relevant AND spicy.

6. Ideas for Grabbers 2. Describe a personal experience This will help the reader identify with you and want to read more. Let’s take a look at a few examples. (handout)

7. Make sure… To make the opening dramatic To keep it brief To connect it with a transition to the thesis to make it relevant

8. Ideas for Grabbers 3. Ask a question This gets to the point of your thesis immediately. Look at the example on the handout. Your thesis SHOULD NEVER BE WORDED AS A QUESTION!

9. Practice Writing Grabbers Working alone, with a partner, or a small group, write a grabber for each of the following topics: 1. A time you said “yes” when you should have said “no” 2. A memorable Halloween experience 3. Being surprised 4. Earliest childhood memories 5. A very good friend

10. Practice Writing an Introduction Choose ONE of the five topics listed below and write an introduction to pull in your reader. It should include: An attention grabber A transition sentence if you need to connect the grabber to the thesis THESIS STATEMENT