Introductions

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Introductions
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An introduction Grabs your readers attention
 Makes them feel compelled to keep
readingMakes the readers believe the subject
is important enough for them to read about 
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But most importantly, an introductionSets up
the THESIS by focusing the readers attention on
the central QUESTION AT ISSUE/PROBLEM/CONFLICT.
It describes the question at issue/problem/confl
ict, and in so doing, prevents readers from
saying Huh? Where is this coming
from? Often, the intro leads readers to a
statement of the essays main point. 
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Some Examples
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Explain your unique relationship to the
issueFor many years, there has been a division
among the people of the US over whether English
should be made the Official language of the
nation. Many people who want official English
believe it will help unite our diverse country.
Others worry that making English officialand
thereby making it illegal to use taxpayer dollars
to print any government documents or teach
students in languages other than Englishwould
only further marginalize non-English speaking
citizens. The stakes are very high, and people
are fighting it out.Like many, I find the issue
a difficult one. I come from a biracial
background, and my grandparents speak only their
native language Spanish. For many years, Ive
watched my mother translate for them and help
them fill out documents. My grandparents are
intelligent people, but they never learned
English. Because of these experiences I
initially objected to official English laws.
However, after considering both sides of the
issue, Ive concluded that the US desperately
needs to make English the official language of
the country.
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Draw an analogy (in other words, introduce your
subject by comparing it to something readers will
already be familiar with) If a stranger
batters your door down with an axe, threatens
your family and yourself with deadly weapons, and
proceeds to loot your home of whatever he wants,
he is committing what is universally
recognizedby law and in common moralityas a
crime. In such a situation the householder has
both the right and the obligation to defend
himself, his family, and his property by whatever
means are necessary. This right and this
obligation is universally recognized, justified,
and praised by all civilized human communities.
Self-defense against attack is one of the basic
laws not only of human society, but of life
itself, not only human life but of all life. The
American wilderness, what little remains, is now
undergoing exactly such an assault.And if the
wilderness is our true home, and if it is
threatened with invasion, pillage, and
destructionas it certainly isthen we have the
right to defend that home, as we would our
private quarters, by whatever means are
necessary. From Eco-Defense by Edward
Abbey 
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Begin with a relevant personal experience that
dramatizes the issue As my ten year old
daughter and I walked hand in hand, I heard
nothing but silence. I looked over and caught
sight of her freckled face and asked myself how I
could have been so stupid. We were in a creepy
parking lot at 1am in Fresno, CA (a city,
according to the Fresno Bee, currently holding
the 3rd largest violent crime rate in the US).
We had just seen a beautiful showing of Les
Miserables, and my daughter wanted the leading
ladys autograph. After waiting an hour, we got
it. The perfect ending to a perfect
mother-daughter date. It felt wonderful
holding the warm hand of my favorite person on
that cold December night, but as we walked hand
in hand, I was struck by the ominous silence.
During our hour wait, everyone had left, and my
car was at the far end of the parking lot. All I
heard were the clicking of my heels on cold
asphalt and the constant buzzing of the parking
lot lamps. At that moment, I prayed for a police
officer, a security guard, or a surveillance
camera to offer some kind of protection for me
and my little one. We made it to the car that
night, and we drove safely home, but I realized
how much I value the eyes of authority watching
over me. How can decent members of a society
growing more violent by the millisecond not
desire to be watched? I knew that night that
complete privacy is a luxury we can ill afford.
Surveillance is an urgent necessity.
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It was slow work but the man was determined.
Hed picked a spot in vivid grass beside a spike
of pale granite, near the Lyell Fork of the
Tuolumne River, and he would get his fire to
burn. I came along and added to his troubles by
suggesting that the meadow didnt need another
fire ring. Back off, he told me. He added
some philosophy Were all part of nature, you
know, and so is my campfire. Its not doing any
harm. Since then Ive countered this
argumentthat almost anything we do is natural,
and thus acceptablein many variants, in defense
of abuses far more serious than a misplaced
campfire. However, a careful examination of
facts and values reveals that while humans are
part of nature, many of their actions are
unnatural.       Introduction to the Sierra
Club Engagement Calendar by John Hart
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Explain the conflictChinas former leader Mao
Zedong once declared war against sparrows,
believing they were a pest and a nuisance. In
response, millions of Chinese took to the
streets, banging on woks and pans to terrify the
birds. The idea force them to stay aloft until
they dropped dead of exhaustion. They did just
that. The campaign was halted after an
infestation of caterpillars, now freed of their
feathered predators, devoured the crops,
enveloped the trees, and rained down upon
pedestrians. In that same grand tradition of
meddling with nature, Alaska has declared an air
war against hundreds of wolves in an effort to
boost already abundant populations of caribou and
moose. And all to impress hunters and tourists.
Never mind that when herds swell, starvation is
often close by. Chalk another one up to
mankinds micromanagement of nature. Recklessly
arrogant and myopic, Alaskas decision is rooted
in special- interest economics, not biology. But
its all the more distressing for what it tells
us about ourselves as a species and our
estrangement from nature. Alaskas folly is the
product of a theme-park mentality in which nature
exists for our amusement. This mentality is
dangerous, and we should try to change
it. from The World is not a Theme Park
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Set your argument up in contrast to another
position on the same issue Nowhere is modern
thinking more muddled that over the question of
whether it is proper to debate moral issues.
Many argue it is not, saying it is wrong to make
value judgments. Proponents of this position
claim that it is unacceptable to make any kind of
judgment about the thoughts, behavior, or
attitudes of others because there is no right
or wrong governing human beings. There is only
different. What is right for you, may not be
right for me, so neither of us is wrong (of
course, what these advocates of no-judgment fail
to see is that if no one is wrong, no one is
right, either). This view is shallow and
impractical. If simply offering such judgments
were in itself wrong or improper, then ethics,
philosophy, and theology would be unacceptable in
a college curriculuman idea that is obviously
silly. Moreover, if we couldnt make judgments,
we couldnt function at even the most basic level
(Self mutilation and rape, for example, are not
just different behaviors they are wrong). In
fact, as the following cases illustrate, it is
impossible to avoid making value judgments.
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A few things to keep in mind

• First impressions are lasting impressions. Your
  introduction sets the tone for the rest of your
  essay.
• Use your intro to prepare readers to consider
  your claim. Your intro should clearly present
  the central question at issue/problem/conflict
  and your thesis.
• Use your intro to provide a sense of the larger
  picture surrounding your specific claim, but
  avoid beginning with huge generalizations like
  The world has many problems.