Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Essay Introductions

On the GED writing test, the essay is the most important thing you'll do. If your essay isn't considered to be good enough (which is a "2" on a scale of "0" to "4"), your multiple choice won't get graded! Ouch! All well-written essays have something in common: a strong, effective introductory paragraph.

Consider a new television show that you sit down to watch. If the first 5 minutes are bad, do you want to keep watching? Of course you wouldn't! An essay is really no different. If your introduction is bad, how good will the rest really be?

Your goal is to "wow" your reader right away! With a few simple steps, you can do that easily. Are you ready to know more?

Your introductory paragraph (like your conclusion) can be shorter than the body paragraphs. However, you should still have a minimum of 3 sentences here. These 3 sentences will accomplish some very important things. Your first sentence will let the reader know the topic (and your position on it). The second sentence will "hint" at where you're going in the body paragraphs. The third sentence then leads the reader into the rest of the essay and makes him or her want to read more! Below is an example of this.

Topic: If you could live anywhere in the United States, where would it be and why?

Intro paragraph: If I could live anywhere in the United States, I would choose to live in New York City. This is because New York City has a tremendous amount of cultural activities, diverse restaurants, and a good transportation system. All of these things are important to me when considering a place to live.

Do you see how all three of those sentences do important tasks?

Now it's your turn to write only an introductory paragraph. Use the topic that you see below. You do not need to write a whole essay!

Topic: Has the personal computer had a positive effect on society? Why or why not?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Advantages: computers process data faster, computers are more accurate,computers are efficient,
Disadvantages of computers are: the cause finger and eyesight
rdisoders , they are expensive, they rely on electricity, hence
limit their reliability.


L.Croce

Anonymous said...

The personal computer has had a positive effect on society today. We are able to use computers for communication, information, entertainment, and to create documents, pamphlets, reports, and slideshows. Personal computers have benefitted society today because we are more independent, knowledgeable, and connected than ever before.

Anonymous said...

The personal computer has had a positive effect on society. We can now use our computers to pay our bills and also transfer funds from one bank account to another. Our kids can do indept research from the comforts of our living rooms, not like before when we would have to spend countless hours at the library.

Alicia said...

Advantages:In today society computer, has good and bad effect.

Good effect, is that it help us in many different way information, report, and communicate with people all over the world.

The bad effect, that computer has on especially us young people.Like myspace and other thing that can cause they life and others.