Tricks for teaching students
How to write an introduction
Students
need to be taught how to write an introduction paragraph. The trick
is to teach them about writing nonfiction introductory paragraphs
after you've taught them how to plan their essays.
Because students first learn about writing from reading, students
assume they should write the parts of the composition in the same
order in which they read them. As a result, they tend to put all
their ideas into their opening paragraphs, leaving nothing for the
body.
If you want your students to be competent nonfiction
writers, you need to teach the writing process in the order in
which students will use it.
In other words, teach students how to write an introduction after
you have taught them to plan and write the body paragraphs of their
essays.
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Start small with beginning writers
When you teach your beginning writers, you can teach them to start
with three-sentence introductions:
First sentence identifies the general topic.
Third sentence presents the thesis statement.
Second sentence builds a bridge between the first
and second sentence ideas.
Of course, that is not what mature writers do, but it is enough
to launch your beginning writers into the composition process.
Most of what beginners need to know about how
to write a composition they will learn only as they actually write
compositions.
You need to give them less instruction in the theoretical how-to
and more composition assignments.
Remember writing is a process
Don't fret if beginning writers' introductions are puny or boring
as long as students' essays have introductions with at least the
requisite three sentences.
Beginning writers need to get a feel for the entire writing process
before they can work at developing any single part of it.
Don't waste your time talking about what students can learn only
by experience. Prepare them as best you can for that first writing
experience and throw them into the essay.
Students
need to be taught how to write an introduction paragraph. The trick
is to teach them about writing nonfiction introductory paragraphs
after you've taught them how to plan their essays.
