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PARTS OF AN ESSAY – THE INTRODUCTION

1. The Introduction of an Essay

a. HOOK / ATTENTION GETTER

b. BACKGROUND/CONNECTING INFORMATION
c. THESIS STATEMENT

A. the HOOK (or attention getter) is the opening sentence of an

essay. It grabs the reader’s attention.

Type of hook Example hook

Shocking statement/fact Each year thousands of teenagers die in driving accidents.

The dictionary defines “gossip” as “casual conversation,” but
Definition gossip is in reality a much more negative interaction.
Quote from a famous The poet Emily Dickinson once said: “Saying nothing…sometimes
person says the most.”
Do you think students should be forced to wear sweaters when it
Question is over 35 degrees?
Many advertisements offer a gift during Christmas time, but isn’t
Humorous statement every gift free?
After college, I had to decide between a low-paying job that
Dilemma seemed like fun and a more mundane job that paid well.
"According to 2008 figures from the Pew Research Centre, 97% of
Striking numbers and today's K-12 students spend many hours each week playing
statistics video games."(Keith Devlin, Learning Math with a Video Game)

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PRACTICE EXERCISE
1. Identify the type of hook.

Type of hook Example hook

Question How would you feel if you returned from gym class, opened your
locker to get changed, and found that your clothes had been
stolen? What would you do?
Humorous statement There's a thin line between a numerator and a denominator. If
you laughed at this fraction joke, you are a math person!
Quote from a famous "Any achievement in business is never accomplished by a single
person person; a team of skilled members from diversified fields is always
needed." (Steve Jobs)
Striking numbers and "Archaeologists believe, based on marks they've seen on
statistics mummies, that human beings had tattoos between 4000 and
2000 B.C. in Egypt."(David Shields, 36 Tattoos)

2. Write a hook for each of the prompts written below.

Topic #1: Write a hook sentence about a contemporary issue that will motivate people to
do something about it.
• Hook Sentence:

“if you want to defeat corruption you must be ready to send your friends to jail” (Lee Kuan
Yew).

Topic #2: Write a hook sentence highlighting a community problem in your area that will
motivate people to do something about it.
• Hook Sentence:

“Each year 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are
dumped”____________________________________________________________________

B. BACKGROUND CONNECTING INFORMATION

• Mentions the topic or subject of the essay in a
general form.

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PARTS OF AN ESSAY – THE INTRODUCTION
• Gives background information to connect the reader to the topic.
..[Hook/Attention-Getter] After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York's World
Trade Towers and the Pentagon, the debate surrounding racial profiling in airports intensified.

[Background/Connecting Information] Many people believed that

profiling was the best way to identify possible terrorists, but many others worried about
violations of civil liberties. While some airports began to target passengers based solely on their
Middle Eastern origins, others instituted random searches instead. Neither of these techniques
seems likely to eliminate terrorism. Now many experts in the government and in airport
security are recommending the use of a national ID card or Safe Traveller Card.

[Thesis] If every US citizen had such a

card, airlines could screen for terrorists more effectively, people would feel safer, and less crime
may be avoided.

PRACTICE EXERCISE
1. Circle de hook and underline the connecting information of the following
paragraphs.

World Cup
Also called the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup, this
event is one of the most riveting and most watched in the world. The World Cup displays
the best of men’s national football teams around the globe traditionally (women had their
first world cup starting from 1991), with one champion standing at the end of the
competition. With football being perhaps the most popular sport worldwide, the World Cup
is the climax of excitement for countless fans. However, most fans do not know much of this
competition’s history and background. Therefore, this essay will delve into the depths of the
World Cup’s past, its main stars, and the projections.

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PARTS OF AN ESSAY – THE INTRODUCTION
•

• The most common location of the thesis statement is the last sentence in the
introductory paragraph.

TOPIC The subject of the essay.

The writer’s position about the topic. The writer defines the 3
CONTROLLING IDEA arguments.

EXAMPLES

TOPIC Cell phones in the classroom

Should be prohibited for 3 main reasons, they are a source of
CONTROLLING IDEA distraction, they allow cheating, and they limit students’ face to
face interaction.

TOPIC Societies should not vote with computers.

Because elections are too important to trust to cyberspace due
CONTROLLING IDEA to security concerns, another reason is the lack of access to
internet and electronic vote might represent a complication for
people with disabilities.

TOPIC Visual learners engage with information.

There are several ways, these are taking notes during lectures or
CONTROLLING IDEA presentations, writing outlines, representing information in
graphs/charts/diagrams, marking sources of information, and
memorising data through flashcards.

PRACTICE EXERCISE

1. Identify the thesis statement: topic & controlling idea.

The Effects of a Lack of Sleep

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PARTS OF AN ESSAY – THE INTRODUCTION
A lack of sleep seems pervasive. We are sleeping less than ever before; some studies have
shown. Our lives are becoming more and more busy with each passing era, and even
children are suffering from sleep deprivation due to all the activities they are engaging in.
Considering these issues, it is important to know the effects of a lack of sleep. The most
common effects of sleep deprivation are drowsiness during the day, experiencing
microsleeps, a difficulty concentrating, impulsive behaviour, a difficulty learning, and
lower physical immunity.

TOPIC The most common effects of sleep deprivation are drowsiness

during the day
experiencing microsleeps, a difficulty concentrating, impulsive
CONTROLLING IDEA behaviour, a difficulty learning, and lower physical immunity.

What Makes an Ideal Friend?

To say what an ideal friend is not the easiest thing to do. Each person has his or her own
perception of what one would be, however, speaking generally, there are certain
attributes that most people deem characteristic of an ideal friend. Loyal, open to show
weakness and inspiring are common qualities that most people attach to ideal friends.

there are certain attributes that most people deem characteristic

TOPIC of an ideal friend.

. Loyal, open to show weakness and inspiring are common

CONTROLLING IDEA qualities that most people attach to ideal friends.

Causes of Insomnia

Insomnia is more common than you think. Millions of people experience insomnia every
year. Tossing, turning, not being able to shut off your brain to slip into the state of sleep—it
is extremely frustrating, and unhealthy. To avoid getting insomnia, this essay will explore the
causes of this phenomenon so you can be better prepared to prevent and to avoid this
pain. The causes of insomnia involve medical conditions, depression, anxiety, lifestyle, and
food.

TOPIC The causes of insomnia involve medical conditions

CONTROLLING IDEA
depression, anxiety, lifestyle, and food.

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PARTS OF AN ESSAY – THE INTRODUCTION

Happiness, a key concept in human life

Every day in one way or another we are trying to find happiness in a complete chaos, that is
what all we are struggling for. Temporary happiness is everywhere if we want to find it and search
for it. Sometimes it is just as close as a cute kitten to us; sometimes giving a hand to someone who
needs us is enough. Even taking a breath may give somebody the absolute happiness at times. But
what if we leave temporary happiness alone and decide to construct our lives on basic principles
of permanent happiness? Certainly, these principles depend on one’s characteristics and point of
view. In my opinion, social relations, acceptance and independence are the most important
elements of permanent happiness in life.

To begin with, social relations are very important for me to be happy in the general drift of my
life. I should have good relations with the people around me for peace of my mind. If I have close
and intimate friends with whom I can share my troubles, worries and my joy, then it means that I
have beaten the life up to a very considerable point. In my opinion, someone who has real friends
has the most valuable treasure of life. In order to obtain this treasure, I make my friends among the
people whose principles resemble mine, whose characteristics best suit me and who are sincere.
Besides friends I try to have good relations with the people I encounter somehow every day, like
neighbours, acquaintances, teachers, relatives and the others.

The second element of continuous happiness for me is acceptance: to clarify, acceptance of

my characteristics, behaviours, choices and desires. At one point, it can be defined as the
acceptance of my existence as a real individual. If I am accepted and taken as I am, I can make
right decisions for myself. To accomplish this, I explain that I do not want unnecessary criticisms from
the people around me. Unless the things I do or think affect anybody, the others should not poke
their nose into them. It is none of their business to interfere with me about the subjects that only
interest me.

In the third place, learning to be independent is very important for me to reach real happiness
in life. I should be self-sufficient enough to continue my life without too much assistance of the
others. Sometimes we are left without our families, sometimes none of our friends stand by us or at
times we may get into a position where we must do things just by ourselves. We live our lives not as
a team but as an individual, so we must learn to cope with it as individually as possible. To be an
independent person, I try to be self-confident and to be a self-confident person I try to obtain
different qualities in different fields. Furthermore, I believe my power, love myself with all my faults
and endeavour not to repeat them but to learn from them.

To sum up, if I acquire success in social relations, independence, and acceptance, then it
means that I have the golden key to make happiness an enduring element of my life. Obtaining all
these elements may not be very easy, they may be achieved only in the long run but there is
something we should always bear in mind, achieving the real and permanent happiness in life is
not that easy, either.

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PARTS OF AN ESSAY – THE INTRODUCTION

TASK:
1. Choose one of the topics below.

2. Develop a persuasive essay, which must contain all its components:

- Introduction
- Body paragraphs (3)
- Concluding paragraph

TITLE: The governments should invest enough money in the development of athletes

INTRODUCTION
a. Hook – Open with a catchy beginning such as a question, an unusual detail, a fact, or a
strong statement.

Ecuador in the entire history of the Olympic Games has only won 5 medals.

b. Background/Attention getter– Introduce the topic (state background information from

general to specific)

Around the country there are only 5 high-yield centers, currently they are not in the best
conditions.

c. Thesis Statement (state the topic and controlling idea – 3 arguments): I believe …

I believe that the government should support the development of athletes because it gives people
a way to generate income, international development, and helps physical and mental health.

BODY PARAGRAPHS (Development of ideas)

Paragraph I: Reason and evidence for my position.

a. Topic Sentence: Many athletes were poor during their childhood and managed to
improve their lives
1. Details (examples/stories/arguments to back your point)
Richard Carapaz comes from a humble family, where in the last Olympic games he won
the gold medal in cycling.
2. Details (examples/stories/arguments to back your point)
The greatest footballers such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, had to fight against
poverty when they were children, now being the best paid in the world
3. Details (examples/stories/arguments to back your point)
The countries also benefited; Messi contributed 50 million dollars in taxes.

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Topic Sentence: Practicing a sport gives you benefits for your health

1. Details (examples/stories/arguments to back your point)

Obesity is a serious problem in our society, doing physical activity during the week
can help you prevent this disease
2. Details (examples/stories/arguments to back your point)
It also helps your mental health, doing physical activity reduces anxiety and stress
levels
3. Details (examples/stories/arguments to back your point)
exercising not only helps the muscles of the extremities, but the muscles of the heart
are also strengthened

Topic Sentence: sport contributes to the development of peace, tolerance, and respect
1. Details (examples/stories/arguments to back your point)
Qatar has been in many problems, that is why it has proposed to organize the world cup for
the year 2022, to change the opinion of other countries.
2. Details (examples/stories/arguments to back your point)
sports bring together all kinds of people regardless of their nationality, or their profession.
3. Details (examples/stories/arguments to back your point)
the British and the Germans stopped the war for 1 day, and the soldiers played a soccer
match with each other

Paragraph 5: Conclusion
a. Restate Thesis Statement
b. Personal comment
In conclusion, sport helps people and countries in many ways, so the government should be
concerned with supporting national athletes, and create policies that promote sport.

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