Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Introduce yourself...

Source: WordNet (r) 1.7

introduction

n 1: the first section of a communication
2: the act of beginning something new
3: formally making a person known to another or to the public
4: a basic or elementary instructional text
5: a new proposal
6: the act of putting one thing into another

An introduction in writing is a tricky thing. Just as the definition implies, it is the first impression, the new proposal, the act of putting one thing into another (your thesis into your paper's body). Your job is to make the reader desire to read the rest of the paper. Just as a personal introduction to someone gives a first impression and leads you to desire further contact with that person, the intro to your paper leads the reader to want to learn more. There are some links at the end of this post to help with the process.

Please comment on an experience with a good or a bad first impression.

Strategies for starting your intro.

Intro and conclusion info... pay special attention to the "elaboration" sentence info.

Great info. with examples

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

In elementary school you would get who was in your class a couple weeks before school. Well in fifth grade i got my class and started crying because none of those people were my friends. All of my reactions about those people were based on first impressions so i went into it thinking that it was going to be an awful year.It turned out great and i became best friends with all of them.

Anonymous said...

first impressions are the most important things. they are usually what follow you around. when someone meets you they immediately judge you even if it is not the right thing. - BakerB3

Anonymous said...

My first impression on Mrs. Caldwell was good. She thought I was just like any other student, and didn't actually grade my work and gave me a hundrend on everything. Now she knows that I am a slacker and she grades all of my work instead of giving me a hundered like everyone else.

Anonymous said...

First impressions are important but are often times misleading and may not show you who the person you are meating truly is.

Anonymous said...

When I went to visit Sewanee, I had a very bad first impression. Right when I walked into the dorm room of the guy I was staying with, I saw a bunch of liquor bottles and posters of naked girls all over the room--not to mention the first conversation we had which was about whether or not I drink. He and his roommate tried recalling their fond memories of the night before, but it was actually morning because they said they didn't get home until 6:00 am. Now I know there is lots of partying at every college, and I don't have a problem with that, but I think I would have liked to at least know this guys name before I got to see/hear about their life at Sewanee.

Anonymous said...

So this is a phenominal first impression. I was at this debutant ball for my older sister in Tenesse, and I was sitting with my dad who was talking to someone that I later learned was his old fraternity brother. Anyway, the man told me that they were bringing krystal hamburgers at midnight, for people to eat. I said something along the lines of o gross, I hate krystal. Later that night my dad told me that that man owned every Krystal in the south east. I felt really stupid. Great first impression.

Anonymous said...

First impressions are so important. Not only is it the first impression it is the ONLY impression. Fortunately if you expect that you will be seeing them again you can usually regain your reputation. First impressions can be great but if you catch someone on a bad night or they catch you on a bad night first impressions can also be less than satisfactory.

Anonymous said...

A bad first impression? Hmmmm...let's see. The first time I met my boyfriend's parents, I accidentally called his step dad by the wrong last name. That was pretty embarrasing. My boyfriend and his best friend both looked at me and whispered the correct name....I felt really stupid. No worries though, I've got it right now.