ENGL 101 Chapter 9: Ch. 9 (236-245)
Document Summary
What introductions do: why what i"m saying matters . The latin roots of the word suggests that introductions bring the reader into the subject (intro, meaning within, and ducere, meaning to lead or bring ). The primary challenge in writing introductions lies in occupying the middle ground between saying too much too soon and saying too little up front. The most important thing to do in the introductory paragraph of an analytical paper is to lay out a genuine issue, something that seems to be at stake in whatever it is you are studying. Kinds of questions that introductory paragraphs usually answer: The danger is trying to turn the introduction into a miniature essay. Consider the three problems discussed next as symptoms of over compression, telltale signs that you need to reconceive, and probably reduce, your introduction. Digression: digression results when you try to include too much background.
