Exercise 8. Writing Introductions

For each of the following introductions, define the type of material used (factual statements, historical background, description, narration, questions, shared experience), the thesis statement, and the purpose for writing. Remember: an introduction may include a variety of methods.

1. Have you ever had a headache, backache, or sore muscles? Of course you have, and perhaps you have taken aspirin, gone to a doctor, or vis­ited your chiropractor, but have you ever considered acupuncture? This traditional Chinese method of treatment might help you. However, you might like to know something about the philosophy, background, and methodology of acupuncture before you consider treatment.

Method: ________

Thesis statement:____________________________________________________

Purpose: to ________

2. More Americans now face housing problems than at any other time since the 1930s. According to an expert at Harvard University, house prices and interest rates have risen four times faster than the real incomes people have had to spend. In 1991 the average price of a new one-family home was $120,000. At this rate, not only the poor and the elderly on fixed incomes but also the middle-class have problems buying a new home. There is also a problem with rents, especially in the West and Northeast, where prices have soared. The number of homeless people on the streets of many American cities is further evidence of the problem. In the future, people will be looking for ways to solve the housing problem. The govern­ment and nonprofit groups will have to become more active in helping to make home ownership easier through support with federal funds and tax incentives.

Method: ________

Thesis statement:_________________________________________

Purpose: to _________

3. Flying over the Potomac River to land at National Airport on our first trip to Washington, D.C, we saw the tip of the Washington Monument surrounded by rolling green lawns and hundreds of multi­colored kites blowing high in the breezes. Off to the south, we could see the Jefferson Memorial and to the west, the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool. Washington, D.C, a beautiful and entertaining city, has many lovely sights to offer a tourist.

Method: ____________

Thesis statement:__________________________________________

Purpose: to ___________

4. About the year 221 B.C., a great emperor named Shih Huang Ti united different parts of China into an empire. North of his empire lived barbaric wanderers of the desert lands, and he felt they were a danger to his empire, so he ordered that a great wall be built to pro­tect all the northern provinces. This Great Wall of China was a tremendous project, and it was completed in only fifteen years. Did the emperor accomplish his goal with the Great Wall? A review of history will answer this question.

Method: ___________

Thesis statement:_______________________________________

Purpose: to____________________________________________

ESSAY WRITING: Planning and Organizing

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