8 English

Newman
Writing introductory paragraphs

It works best to work backwards when you are writing an intro on an extended paper.
Here is the step-by-step process.

1. Based on the topic you have chosen to write about, write your thesis statement. While
this goes LAST in the paragraph, it is easier to write it first and then lead up to it.

e.g. These short stories reflect the seemingly strange ways people deal with
death, and indicate that this experience can be quite dissimilar for people
depending on the circumstances surrounding the death.

2. Test out your thesis by asking yourself if someone could argue the opposite of your
thesis. If they can, it’s fine as is. If no one would take the opposite position, then you
don’t really have a thesis yet.

e.g. Could someone argue that the stories when compared, don’t show characters
dealing with death in different ways? Yes. Or could it be argued that the stories
indicate that people cope in ways that ultimately are all the same? Yes.

3. Work your way toward the thesis now by writing one or two sentences to sum up what
each story’s plot and situation include. This should give the gist of each story without
becoming a blow-by-blow account of every scene. These sentences will go just above the
thesis.

e.g. In Ry Terr’s short story, “The Last Words He Said,” the young Lotta watches
her father die from pneumonia just a few days after becoming ill with what his
family thought was a simple cold; the narrative illustrates her deepening
isolation and hopelessness as the weeks after this event play out. I.M. Moody’s
story, “Die, Die, Die!” gains its title from the protagonist’s angry tirade aimed at
the memory of his recently dead friend; Yuri tries to resist reality and deny that
his friend has died because Yuri feels he should not have died, and the story
gradually reveals how he comes to acknowledge and accept the truth.

4. Add a hook so that the reader will be intrigued about your topic and want to know
more. This sentence comes first and can be related to the stories, but can also be more
general if you prefer. Here are two:

e.g. Two American short stories, both from the early 1900s, demonstrate a basic
truth about how hard it is to cope with the death of a loved one. OR

e.g. Ultimately, everyone must deal with the pain of someone’s death, as it is a
fundamental part of the human experience.
5. Here is the intro paragraph:

Two American short stories, both from the early 1900s, demonstrate a basic truth

about how hard it is to cope with the death of a loved one. In Ry Terr’s short story, “The

Last Words He Said,” the young Lotta watches her father die from pneumonia just a few

days after becoming ill with what his family thought was a simple cold; the narrative

illustrates her deepening isolation and hopelessness as the weeks after this event play

out. I.M. Moody’s story, “Die, Die, Die!” gains its title from the protagonist’s angry

tirade aimed at the memory of his recently dead friend; Yuri tries to resist reality and

deny that his friend has died because Yuri feels he should not have died, and the story

gradually reveals how he comes to acknowledge and accept the truth. These short stories

reflect the seemingly strange ways people deal with death, and indicate that this

experience can be quite dissimilar for people depending on the circumstances

surrounding the death.