Download Introduction Paragraph Guide Introduction: As you write the intro to

Introduction Paragraph Guide
Introduction: As you write the intro to your paper, remember:
1. Hook your reader:
Provide an interesting introduction that encourages your reader to read on!
2. Provide background:
Think of your intro as a “funnel.” Start with general ideas that lead to your thesis.
Consider wars in America, historical information about the time period, compare and contrast your person,
event, innovation with others, ask a philosophical question.
3. Write a clear, concise thesis: Your thesis must be one sentence long, at the end of your introduction.
Answer the overall question and give your reader a basic idea of where you are headed.
When writing an intro for a history paper, how do you begin? Check out these sample intros about the same
Civil War topic- Abraham Lincoln. Each ends with the same thesis, but gets at it in a different way.
Directions: Read each of the sample intros. Underline the thesis statement. Decide which approach the writer is
using to begin their paper:
 Wars in American History?
 Historical information about the time period?
 Compare and contrast person, event, or innovation with others?
 A philosophical question?
 A Blend?
Sample Intro 1:
_______________________________
Throughout the history of the United States of America, the nation has been graced with many of the greatest minds in
history, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison. These “founding fathers” were
challenged with the task of establishing a country and designing a democratic government. Decades later, another man would be
challenged to preserve it. Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president, took office during a time of uproar, turmoil, and disorder.
With the secession of many southern states, the duty to preserve the Union fell to Lincoln. During Lincoln's presidency he
would find himself engaged in a Civil War, fighting over the emancipation of southern slaves. Although Abraham Lincoln’s
election would trigger the break up of the Union, his controversial executive decisions during the Civil War actually helped to
reunite the country.
Sample Intro 2: _______________________________
Although Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq have lasted longer, the Civil War still ranks as America’s bloodiest and most
destructive conflict. It began in April 1861 with the shelling of Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC and ended in April 1865 at
Appomattox Courthouse, VA. The war dominated all aspects of American life. Factories produced weapons and uniforms to
outfit soldiers, while farms harvested crops to feed them. During that time, 3 million men between the ages of 18-29 fought
each other and died on America’s fields, streams and shores. The estimated financial cost of the war was $6.19 billion- or $146
billion in modern dollars. Declaring that the United States “must and shall be preserved,” President Abraham Lincoln led the
country through this most trying time and used his convictions and leadership to justify the tremendous sacrifice and achieve
victory for the North. Although Abraham Lincoln’s election triggered the break up of the Union, his controversial executive
decisions during the Civil War actually helped to reunite the country.
Sample Intro 3:
________________________________
There are many milestones on the road to the American Civil War. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1791, making the cash
crop viable and increasing the demand for slaves-- the ultimate cheap labor. Recruiting many to her abolitionist cause, Harriet
Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852, a best-selling novel about slave life on a plantation. Declaring that slaves were
not citizens of the United States and invalidating key compromises about slavery and western territory, Chief Justice Roger
Taney authored the controversial Dred Scott v. Sanford decision in 1857. John Brown attacked Harper’s Ferry in 1859, hoping
to ignite a slave rebellion throughout the South. These developments heightened feelings of sectionalism and drove the North
and South further apart. However, the key cause of the Civil War was a predictable event in American political life. Abraham
Lincoln’s election triggered the break up of the country and his controversial executive decisions during the Civil War actually
helped to reunite the Union.