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Part One. Introductions to Avoid
1. According to the Webster Dictionary . . .
2. Since the Dawn of Man . . .
3. In today's society . . .
4. In the modern world today . . .
5. Since Adam and Eve traipsed across the Garden of Eden . . .
6. Since time memorial . . .
7. Mired in this age of rampant consumerism . . .
8. In this essay it is my objective to . . . which I will prove by . . .
9. Sorry for the poor quality of this essay, Mr. McMahon, but I am under a lot of stress and pressure right now . . .
10. An overused, hackneyed quotation: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
Effective Introductions
1. Connect a current event to your topic. For example, you might connect Octo-Mom to the subject of birth control or the ethical standards of fertility doctors.
2. Seize upon a national obsession and connect it to your topic. We have the aforementioned Octo-Mom, the lies of Alex Rodriguez regarding his steroid use, the pandemic of foreclosures and their effect on families, the devastation of unemployment, etc . . .
3. Use a quote that has not been overused when it bears relevance to your essay's topic. George Bernard Shaw: "There are two great tragedies in life. The first is not getting what one wants. The second is getting it."
4. Personal anecdote or short one-page story that is relevant to your essay topic.
5. Use a startling statistic that gets your reader's attention and that is relevant to your topic. You might talk about how many foreclosures there are every hour or how many people sign up on the immoral dating service Ashley Madison.
6. Begin with a rhetorical question that you are going to answer in your thesis. For example, why are Americans spending billions and billions of dollars on dieting every year while getting fatter and fatter? Or why are jealous boyfriends more likely to cheat than boyfriends who are not jealous? Does this make any sense. Yes, it does . . .
7. Use an analogy or extended comparison to clarify a point that is important to your argument. For an example, CLICK HERE.
All the YouTube videos on essay writing can be found by clicking on Essay Ryan.
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