Download File

Writing an Introduction for NHD
Every person, regardless of what type of project they choose, needs to have a
written introduction. This is an individual – not group – assignment. Everybody
should create their own and then combine them as you put together your final
project. Here is a guide.
For this guide, let’s imagine you were doing Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon.
Step 1 – Set the Scene and Use a hook to draw the readers in. This can be
narrative.
After a successful campaign defeating the Visigoths in Gaul, Caesar left the north
west territories expecting a hero’s welcome in Rome. Instead, he was greeted with a
threat: either disband his army and give up his post as general, or be jailed for life.
Step 2 - Give the Time Period and Some Historical Context – what was
happening around the same time that will help your readers understand?
It was January 10, 49 BC, and the Roman Empire stretched from the Middle East to
the shores of the Atlantic. Caesar had defeated the Goths gained power and wealth
in Gaul. His power threatened the Senators in Rome, and his popularity with regular
Roman’s made Pompey and Crassus nervous.
Step 3 - Set up your thesis statement. (Think about what your reader needs to
know to understand before the Thesis comes. What haven’t you said?)
Caesar had a decision to make: give up his power, or keep his army and try to win
control of Rome for himself. The Rubicon River in northern Italy represented the
line that Roman generals could not cross with their army.
Step 4 – Give your Thesis. (This is the same thesis that you’ve already drafted)
When Julius Caesar took a stand against the Roman Senators by crossing the
Rubicon River, he plunged the Roman Republic into Civil War, which led to Rome
changing from Republic to Empire, and eventually led to the collapse of the western
Roman Empire.
Step 5 – Put it all together!
After a successful campaign defeating the Visigoths in Gaul, Caesar left the north
west territories expecting a hero’s welcome in Rome. Instead, he was greeted with a
threat: either disband his army and give up his post as general, or be jailed for life.
It was January 10, 49 BC, and the Roman Empire stretched from the Middle East to
the shores of the Atlantic. Caesar had defeated the Goths gained power and wealth
in Gaul. His power threatened the Senators in Rome, and his popularity with regular
Roman’s made Pompey and Crassus nervous. Caesar had a decision to make: give up
his power, or keep his army and try to win control of Rome for himself. The Rubicon
River in northern Italy represented the line that Roman generals could not cross
with their army. When Julius Caesar took a stand against the Roman Senators by
crossing the Rubicon River, he plunged the Roman Republic into Civil War, which
led to Rome changing from Republic to Empire, and eventually led to the collapse of
the western Roman Empire.