The Internet TESL Journal

An Interesting Approach to Writing Introduction Paragraphs

Darren P. Bologna
kappa7099 [at] yahoo.com
Kanda University of International Studies

Step 1: Describing an Introduction Paragraph

Pair the students. Write the parts of an introduction on the blackboard. A good idea is to create a simple example or ask for help from the students:

The Parts of an Introduction

An Example

Step 2: Dissecting an Introduction

Describe the purpose of each section of an introduction.

Step 3: Identifying the Parts of an Introduction in Other Works

Give copies of three introduction paragraphs to student pairs. Ask the students to identify the parts of the introduction by underlining, circling, and bracketing. Ask confirmation questions to check answers.

Step 4:

Give the students copies of personal advertisements. Students must identify the hook in the personal ad. Ask confirmation questions to check answers.

Step 5:

Students now write their own personal ad. Tell them to write their hook in all capital letters. This will make them more aware of what they are doing. Students trade papers with other pairs to evaluate. Allow 5 to 10 minutes for discussions on ways to improve their hooks. Ask for volunteers to read some good ads with great hooks.

Step 6:

Students write their own introductions for their topics. Students need to write the hook in all capital letters, the comments and background in bold or darker letters, and finally the thesis statement should be underlined.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VIII, No. 8, August 2002
http://iteslj.org/
http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Bologna-IntroParagraphs.html