Read the chapter on introductions in Week Three. It describes four types of introduction strategies:
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The Inverted Triangle, “Funnel Introduction”
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The Narrative Introduction
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The Interrogative Introduction
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Mind the Gap/ Outlining the Niche Introduction
Think about the needs of your paper and write the introduction to your paper in one (or a combination) of these styles. After your introduction, briefly explain in (100 words min) how the style(s) that you chose fit the needs of your particular essay.
Chapter 6
Writing Introductions
If we remember the Burkean Parlor from ENG 100 and 101, we know that the
conversations we are about to enter have been going on long before we arrived and will
continue long after we leave.
Recognizing this, the point of the introduction paragraph of an academic paper is
often to catch the reader up with the conversation. A good introduction often makes
assumptions about what the reader already knows and does not know. This depends on
how the writer perceives the identity of the audience.
Even though in college your only real audience will be your professor, we should
practice writing for real audiences. The audience may depend on the subject and
purpose of the paper.
Below, we will look at a few specific strategies to frame the debate and set up
the thesis of the paper.
In very scholarly papers, this might look like a long list of summaries of previous
studies and their findings. In popular or argumentative papers, the introduction may
use more classically persuasive techniques. (Remember Ethos, Pathos, and Logos from
ENG 100.)
The Inverted Triangle or “Funnel Introduction”
In this type of introduction, the paper begins by introducing the subject in a
broad way, then narrows it down to the thesis statement.
For example, if I were writing about the benefits of video gaming as literature, I
could write a funnel introduction:
Since the Atari 2600 Game system flooded the market in the early 1980’s, parents have
pilloried video gaming as a mind melting waste of time, an addition that if left unchecked
will lead to the zombification, illiteracy, and atrophy of youth. Yet through time video
games have become much more than the simple physics games of Pong. Recent video
games are immersive experiences with stories often written by the same authors who
write our movies and sometimes books. There is still plenty of hand-eye coordination, but
today’s video games are becoming literature in themselves.
This is a popular topic, so I don’t need much citation of scholarly sources. In
academic papers, it is often the case that the inverted triangle introduction will contain
a lot of summary of previous studies.
The Narrative Introduction
The narrative introduction is just that—a story. This strategy is often useful when
your personal experience or the experience of another is central to your argument. The
narrative will likely be an example of the main point you are trying to prove. For
example:
Tyler Winslow’s thumbs are sore and the carpel tunnel is acting up again. The crowd
cheers. The television cameras zoom in on his face, breaking a nervous sweat. Tyler can’t
bench press more than two ten-pound weights. His fifty-yard dash is a pathetic twelve
seconds. He admits to getting winded riding an escalator, but the sixteen-year-old
Californian is a star athlete in the new sport of competitive gaming.
In this introduction, it was a good strategy to draw the reader into the excitement
of the moment to show how popular and exciting this new sport can seem to some,
especially its participants.
Interrogative Introduction
In general, your paper will ask many questions. Academics make inquires.
Sometimes you will have more than one question. Sometimes you will have a series of
questions or one question will lead to another? The role of the interrogative
introduction is to get us to the right question. For example:
Are video games good for kids? Perhaps this isn’t the right question because it implies
every video game is the same. But are all video games equal? Can we really compare
Pong to Final Fantasy 7? Paul McKnight of Purdue University argues in his article,
“The New Immersion” that Role Playing games by their nature are much more beneficial
than other types of purely reactive games because they teach the fundamental concepts of
drama and acting, they call for kids to play roles other than their own and learn to
empathize. But how productive are these “roles” that they play and how might they
reinforce or challenge dominant cultural hegemony and economic systems?
So, think in your paper if your questions lead to questions. If so, the interrogative
strategy might be useful for you.
Minding the Gap or Finding a Niche
This introduction is very common in academic writing and especially research papers.
Like the Burkean Parlor, this strategy outlines where a conversation has been; however,
its main goal is to point out a gap in knowledge in that conversation which the paper
intends to fill. For example:
Scholars like Paul McKnight in “The New Immersion” and Steven Johnson in “Why
Games are Good for You” argue passionately for the benefits of video games. McKnight
expounds on how video games teach children narrative structures and let them
participate in them, creating the essential elements of drama. Steven Johnson focuses on
the possible cognitive benefits of gaming. Very few people, however, have studied the
social aspects of gaming, for gaming has long been held as a solitary activity. But gaming
is far from antisocial anymore. Gaming, is, in fact, the primary social community for
many young people. While there is a solitary element to some gaming, there is no doubt
that socialization is happening in gaming communities.
Of course, these are just some common patterns of introductions. There are many other
strategies for introductions, and you can combine these strategies at will. There are also
some strategies that have been used too much in high school writing and should be
avoided, tricks that you may have learned in the past may come off as amateurish in
college writing.
Read the section on this website titled, “Five kinds of less effective introductions.”
Are you guilty of having done any of these in the past?
Read the chapter on introductions in Week Three. It describes four
types of introduction strategies:
•The Inverted Triangle, “Funnel Introduction”
•The Narrative Introduction
•The Interrogative Introduction
•Mind the Gap/ Outlining the Niche Introduction
Think about the needs of your paper and write the introduction to your
paper in one (or a combination) of these styles. After your introduction,
briefly explain in (100 words min) how the style(s) that you chose fit
the needs of your particular essay.
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