CANKAYA UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF BASIC AND ELECTIVE COURSES -ENGLISH UNIT-

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CANKAYA UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF BASIC AND
ELECTIVE COURSES-ENGLISH UNIT-
WRITING SKILLS FOR ENG-205 WEEK 8 INTRODUCTORY
PARAGRAPH
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INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

• The first paragraph in an essay is called the
  introductory paragraph.
• There are two purposes of the introductory
  paragraph
• 1. to get the readers attention
• 2. to introduce them to the subject of the essay

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• The writer needs to lead readers to the subject
  of the essay in an interesting way and convince
  them that reading his/her essay will be worth
  their time.

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Guidelines for writing a good introductory
paragraph

• It must be relevant to the topic
• It shouldnt give detailed information about the
  main ideas.
• There should be at least 4 sentences before the
  thesis statement.
• The thesis statement should come at the end of
  the introductory paragraph

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Model Introductory Paragraph

• That English like all languages, has changed over
  the past years is clear to any student of English
  literature who tries to read Chaucer. The English
  that he wrote in 12th century is nearly
  unintelligible today. Unfortunately, this is the
  first effect of language change a barrier to
  understanding. Why languages change is another
  topic one that can
• be analyzed. In general, linguists agree that
  there are two basic causes of language change
  simplification for efficiency or regularity and
  contact with other languages.

Connecting sentence
Thesis statement
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How to write a good thesis statement

• Your thesis statement should be specific
• Thesis statement should express which aspect of
  the topic you are going to deal with
• The thesis statement usually appears at the end
  of the introductory paragraph

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Sample Thesis Statements

• 1. The life of the typical college student is
  characterized by time spent studying, attending
  class, and socializing with peers.
• 2. While both sides fought the Civil War over the
  issue of slavery, the North fought for moral
  reasons while the South fought to preserve its
  own institutions.
• 3. Native Americans have made many valuable
  contributions to modern U.S. culture in the areas
  of language, art, food, and government

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Types of Introductory Paragraphs

• General to specific
• Historical
• Anectodal
• Statistical

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General to specific

• The most commonly used type
• Begins with a general statement, then each
  sentence narrows it down until reaching to the
  specific thesis statement
• Although the information is general, it should be
  relevant to the topic.
• See page 43 for sample paragraphs

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Historical Introduction

• General historical background of the topic is
  given.
• Then the thesis is stated
• See page 44 for sample paragraphs

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Anectodal Introduction

• An anectode is a brief story
• You may begin your paragraph with an anectode
  related to your topic
• The anectode may be about
• Yourself
• Your friend/ a famous person
• Nobody (you can invent a story)
• See page 45 for sample paragraphs

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Statistical Paragraph

• You can use interesting facts or statistics
• By doing so, you can also attract the attention
  of the readers.
• See page 46 for sample paragraphs

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Practice 1 (pp. 47-48)

• Evaluate the given paragraphs

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Practice 3 page 50

• Form groups of 4-5
• Choose one of the topics
• Write a thesis statement
• Then choose one of the introduction types
• Write your paragraphs
• Finally, evaluate your paragraphs

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