Writing the Introduction

Purpose:

1. to catch the readers' attention (making them want to continue reading the essay)
2. to focus and narrow the subject
3. to provide a thesis (your answer to the question or approach to the topic)

In a few sentences you should try to give an ordinary topic an original slant.

Ways to Begin:

1. an example
2. a series of brief examples
3. a personal anecdote
4. some general (though not vague or boring) observations
5. a rhetorical question
6. an attack on conventional wisdom

Then, after you have attracted your readers' attention, narrow to a thesis statement. If you typically have trouble organizing, you may want to list subtopics (reasons, causes, effects -- that is, supporting points).

You should not automatically assume that the topic must be divided into three subtopics. More sophisticated thesis statements usually attack the topic directly but less mechanically (without listing the subtopics). Many introductions can be structured around some simple contrasts. For example, "Many students (people, etc.) believe/say . . . , but my experience tells me B."

AVOID:
"Advertising has a large influence on my life and the lives of my friends. Advertising has an influence on the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, and the food we eat."

Sample Introductions:

TOPIC: How have your eating habits changed since you've been in college?

1. No one disputes the value of a college education as a large component of personal growth. The physical and intellectual demands of Georgia Tech require lifestyle modifications on all levels. However, such intense academic activities displace all prior habits and acquired knowledge of childhood. My mother's eighteen-year effort of instilling the importance of nutrition faded into a memory only weeks into my college career.

2. Looking back on my first year in college is very memorable. I experienced many great times, and life became a lot busier. With such a busy schedule, one of my biggest changes when I got to college was my eating habits. Staying up late and sleeping until 12:00 everyday didn't exactly help when it came to eating right and eating at meal times. This major change in my eating styles didn't exactly go well with me or my figure.

3. In high school, I was an underweight, picky eater. I ate what I liked on the dinner table and nothing else. Now, after
eighteen months of college, a rigorous workout routine, and almost two years experience in the restaurant industry, I am an underweight, picky eater.

4. College has changed many aspects of my life. A major shift has occurred to my eating habits. Since beginning school last year at Georgia Tech, my eating habits have made a change in the wrong direction; they have become the worst of my life. The once important and properly balanced meals became rushed, if not forgotten, and poorly nutritioned meals.

5. I can remember when my older sister, Jennifer, went off to college. I was a junior in high school and could not wait to
experience the fun and excitement that Jennifer was about to. I can remember my mother telling her to watch what she ate; otherwise she would gain the freshman fifteen. I remember saying that I would never change my eating habits, and I certainly would not gain fifteen pounds. Much to my surprise, it was not as easy as I thought not to change my eating habits.

6. Because my mother is a diabetic, I have been trained, so to speak, to eat a well-balanced diet. Our family would always have items from the four basic food groups at every meal. When I first went to college at Emory University, I was easily able to continue my good eating habits because while I lived on campus, I ate at the cafeteria where I had many choices of healthy foods. Last Fall, I transferred to Georgia Institute of Technology and now must cook for myself because I live off-campus. Though I attempt to maintain good eating habits, I find myself cooking quick meals which are not always very nutritious.