Part 1 of building a strong introduction: WRITING a Strong LEAD

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Part 1 of building a strong introductionWRITING
a Strong LEAD

• A strong lead will hook your reader from the
  beginning!

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Resources

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v_tv2-lXHfAI (Stop
  at 243)
• http//grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm.
  
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vGrXe8YDbzYs (What
  do movie trailers and writing hooks have in
  common?)

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Options for Hooking Leads

1. Sharing a secret (or unknown fact)
2. Incorporating an original question
3. Creating a scene (with 5 senses)
4. Using an anecdote (small story within a larger
   piece)
5. Starting with dialogue/thinking
6. Introducing with strong feelings

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Sharing a secret

• Sharing a secret
• Students share an unknown truth about their
  writing topic that most people dont know.
• Example You think you know everything about
  Thanksgiving, dont you? Well, listen up. I have
  a news flashWE ALMOST LOSTTHANKSGIVING! Didnt
  know that, did you? Its true. (Thank You Sarah
  The Woman who Saved Thanksgiving)
• Lets experiment with this strategy by first
  sharing a secret about ourselves.

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Starting with an original question

• Starting with an original question
• If you ask your readers a question at the
  beginning, they will find themselves wanting to
  answer it, and this will draw them in.
• Example Do you hate homework? Do you wonder why
  it was even invented? Can you imagine how great
  it would be to come home in the afternoon and be
  able to watch TV, play video games, or have a
  snack without having to think about school?

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Creating a scene

• Creating a scene
• Students draw the reader in with sensory and
  setting details.
• Example Waves thrash and winds swirl, tossing a
  ship about in the darkness. Then, in the
  distance, a light appears. It flashes three
  times, disappears, then flashes again. On board,
  the ships crew recognizes that it is a
  lighthouse signal
• Example The campfire crackled. Glowing orange
  sparks shot into the sky and floated up until
  they cooled and faded away. Six friends huddled
  around the flames listening to the night.
• Example It's ten degrees below zero, and the
  river is frozen a foot thick. It makes snapping
  sounds like the limbs of trees cracking. A long
  figure glides along the black ice, moving toward
  the city. The only sound is the scraping of each
  blade as it bites into the river. That's me doing
  my favorite sport, ice-skating.

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Using an anecdote

• Using an anecdote
• An anecdote is a little story within a larger
  piece that serves as an example of an important
  point.
• Example If I could redo one choice in my life, I
  would choose not to ride my cousins motorcycle.
  Growing up, I wanted to be just like my cousin
  Chip, even when he got a dirt bike. When I was
  seven years old, I asked Chip if I could ride his
  new motorcycle. My hand revving the throttle, I
  took off, slid on the pavement, and became
  trapped under my aunts car. Just as I should
  have thought first about riding my cousins
  motorcycle, Ponyboy and Johnny should have
  thought of the consequences of their choices
  before acting. Because Ponyboy and Johnny made a
  short-sighted decision, they faced consequences
  with the law, their families, and with their
  consciences.

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Starting with dialogue/thinking

• Starting with dialogue/thinking
• Starting with a thought gets the readers
  attentionits like listening in on a
  conversation were not supposed to hear. Most of
  us cant resist listening in on a good
  conversation. Thats why most readers like
  dialogue.
• Example 1 This is it. Im going to die, I
  thought to myself, as I closed my eyes, gripped
  the steering wheel tightly, and prepared for
  impact.
• Example 2 Were moving. Thats what she told
  me. I couldnt believe it! I had just made the
  basketball team and was making more friends!
• What?! I exclaimed

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Introducing with strong feelings

• Introducing with strong feelings
• Be passionate. Avoid words like I thinkor its
  kind of
• Example My heart jumped up in my throat as I
  raised my fist. I was sweating like a pig and my
  knees felt weak. I was so scared about what might
  happen next that no one heard my timid tapping at
  the door. So I stood there, in the cold,
  waiting-anxious, confused, and embarrassed.