They're filled with facts, numbers and dry language meant to convey a level of professionalism. Introductions that grab the reader's attention are aptly known as attention getters. Before choosing the attention getter that works best for your paper, consider the tone of your piece, the purpose of your thesis and the audience for which you're writing. Just as in conversation, rhetorical questions in research papers are meant to get the reader's mind wondering about something without requiring him to respond.

Argumentative Essay on Mass Media

A research paper about the homeless could begin can you move all of your life's possessions around in a shopping cart? use a relevant quote. It doesn't necessarily have to be from someone who's an expert in your field of research just so long as the quote applies to the thesis of your paper. You can begin by crediting the author first, such as winston churchill once said that 'attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.' if, however, your author is relatively unknown, begin with the quote, and then credit the author afterward. Use a shocking statistic to engage your reader, and then segue into the body of your paper. A research paper on developmental psychology could begin about 26 percent of children growing up in america have only one parent. From here, you can go on to talk about the effect this has on children, and the desirability of a home with two parents.

Defending a Dissertation

While this isn't grammatically correct they're sentence fragments , it can be used if you know what you're doing. What do these things have in common? they're all themes of william shakespeare's play 'hamlet.' use imagery. Describe to readers what they should be seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting and hearing. An attention grabber with good potential for success is a quote from someone notable or relevant to the topic of your essay. If you are using multiple sources to write your essay, find a quote from one of your supporting sources to strengthen your writing. Relevance is more important than fame when using quotes as an attention grabber in fact, using a cliche can frequently backfire, giving your reader less incentive to continue reading your paper. If you can't find a quote easily, try an online quotation database that you can search by keyword, like the quotations page.

A rhetorical question is one whose answer is not necessary to understand the asker's point. An example of a rhetorical question like how much longer must intolerance and inequality continue before we will start to change? has a very straightforward and simple answer such as no longer and the question is posed more for its persuasive effect than in hopes of reaching a conclusion. Consider one of the more provocative or debated aspects of the topic of your essay, and begin your essay with the rhetorical question straight away. Transitioning from a rhetorical question to the rest of the introductory paragraph can be very easy: for example, the answer to this question may appear simple, but mark twain was of the opinion that. Use a personal anecdote as an attention grabber in a personal essay or statement of intent. Personal anecdotes may be less effective or useful in a literary essay, where the writer is expected to use the third person throughout the essay and examine the text on a critical, not a personal, level. However, using a personal anecdote as an attention grabber in a statement of intent, like one that you would include as part of a college or fellowship application, can set up the entire essay and make it easier to bring your essay full circle in your conclusion.

Use a personal anecdote that tells the story of a personal struggle, or a unique experience, to convince the reader to learn more about you and how you've grown. Describe a scene from the book you're examining that epitomizes a theme or embodies the central conceit. One advantage of descriptions is their versatility: you can make them as short as one sentence, or you can build suspense by drawing your description out into three or four.

Dissertation Uni Wien Online

Don't be surprised if you feel a little carried away by the world you're constructing and know that if you feel that way, chances are your reader will, too. Because quantifying phenomena is such a challenge, using a statistic, fact, or number immediately draws your readers' attention and impresses upon them your mastery of the topic you're treating. Make sure your sources are accurate and reliable, and always cross check them to make sure.

If you can't cite your surprising fact, don't use it, because a lack of credibility will undermine your entire essay, no matter how well you grabbed your reader's attention at the beginning. Rainey connections: writing, reading and critical thinking for their own work in the area of opening and closing essay stratagems. paragraphs for the extensive attention they gave to improving the reading and basic writing skills of young writers. Finally, a sincere note of appreciation has to be extended to my colleagues and associates in the writing program of the pan african studies department at california state university, northridge from the time this was first written some 15 years ago in 1986: dr. Purnell professor emeritus and founder of the pas writing program as well as author of bridges: ways of approaching written discourse , dr. Tom spencer walters chairperson of the department and founding editor of kapu sens , and professors king edward carter, professor and author herbert a.

I thank each for the insights and observations over the years of commitment to developing voices among the students matriculating through the pas writing program. To simmons and priestley, in particular, i give a heartfelt thanks for continuing the watts writers workshop tradition of which we were all part of. Much has been made over the years about the importance of experience – very simply, of working at one’s craft…whatever that craft might be.

In robert townsend’s critically acclaimed feature film the five heartbeats, the central character is an aspiring writer. Well, my mother, who was not a writer, was not nearly so fanciful in saying to me during my grade school years that i would have to pay a lot of dues before amounting to anything in this world. For those reading this, i am saying that writing is not something to be mastered in five easy lessons. You have to read along the way – whether that reading take the form of newspapers, news magazines, comic books, popular fiction like walter mosley’s walkin ’ the dog. Cultural criticism such as that done by michael eric dyson with race rules: navigating the color line. Or major writers like toni morrison with paradise or ralph ellison’s juneteenth.

Essay on Computer And Our Future

The point i’m making is that a person reads in order to develop, expand and appreciate the power of the word, of vocabulary, of being able to express themselves without stretching for meanings beyond their grasp. This article is based upon my own experiences as a writer and in the classroom – and i do this as someone whose ability and love for writing enabled me to move up out of the jordan downs housing projects in south central los angeles, pass through harvard, stanford and antioch universities, and settle into a position where i can now share my love for the craft and love of writing itself with others. For those of you concerned solely with writing better paragraphs and essays, what i have to say should offer some insights on accomplishing that task. For those of you, though, who see writing as a means to affect social attitudes and change the way people view issues and one another , perhaps what i have to say will help jar some now thoughts into existence. the hook: getting the reader’s attention how many times have you opened your mailbox to see one of those large, brown envelopes with large lettering boldly announcing that you have been pre approved and stand to be an instant winner! it doesn’t matter that the letter may have come from some publishing clearinghouse.