Lesson 3--Let's create something: model introductions and teaching tools
Our Objectives
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In this lesson, we will learn a strategy for generating all the content we could possibly need, from our basic context-problem-solution skeleton to extra optional steps like voices or relevance statements. Crucially, we want all of this to be useful to your future students, so we will keep it simple and help you to customize two teaching products for your classroom: a model introduction and an introduction guide for your students.
Generating content can be perfectly natural
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One of my favorite aspects of this approach to teaching introductions is that I can clearly define introduction steps in terms of real, natural thought processes. Unlike hook introductions, which tease and tempt readers, our introduction pattern can be crafted in a very straightforward way that is as clear to non-native writers as it is to native-speaking ones.
Allow me to share an interview template that my students and I created to help generate content for academic introductions. We use this during peer conversations that are scheduled in class, but this could be done alone just as easily. The answers that the writer provides become content for the introduction. I created labels to help learners see how each step might be used:
- So, what are you discussing in class these days? (topic - part of context)
- Why are you talking about that? / Why does that topic matter? (relevance)
- Have you discussed anything controversial as you explored the topic? // Are there any issues where people tend to disagree? (problem)
- Why is that controversial? / What have others said about the topic? (voices)
- So what do you think? (solution)
Using the previous example of donating used clothing, a student might respond with the following answers:
- We are looking at the real process behind used clothing donations.
- We are discussing this because it turns out that most clothing isn't given away for free. A lot of it ends up being sold in developing nations.
- One controversy surrounding this issue is whether or not we can still call this charity.
- This is controversial because most charity organizations defend their "right" to raise to money for their primary mission by selling donations like used clothes. But on the other hand, we found many bloggers and even some economists who claim that this practice is morally and economically destructive to recipient countries.
- I think that we can consider the practice charitable if we remember that charity is more about the giver's intentions and the overall positive effect that it brings.
This still isn't an introduction, though. A student building an essay should be careful to understand that this conversation model generates content, but the form of the essay might be a little different. Specifically, It's not uncommon to see effective introductions that play with the order of optional elements. John Swales' scholarly work (upon which this mini-course is partially based) mentioned that the optional moves like relevance statements or voices are often present, but not in any strict order. So beyond the more rigid context-problem-solution format, students are encouraged to try different possibilities and choose what works best, using this conversation template to draw content from.
Helpful Classroom Tip:
Remember our standby format: "Something is happening that leads to a significant question, and my answer is XYZ." The key part that's missing from the conversation model is "Something is happening in the world." Notice that the conversation template gives us a topic, but no real events or trends to respond to. So you might ask the student, "What are real things going on in the world--things we can point to, or even measure--that would give us a starting point for this paper?" Hint: Our portrayal of these events are often rather neutral or naive, since we haven't troubled them with problems or questions yet. Keep in mind that the problem statement and the context are generally two separate steps!
"Donating used clothing is a common practice for most people in the developed world." -- Perfect!
As you practice using this model, students will get the hang of it, supplying more relevant context information with minimal prodding from the teacher. But don't be surprised if the first time you try this template, students offer statements like "used clothes"!
Helpful Classroom Tip:
Looking at effective models can be quite valuable for demonstrating how each step of an introduction works, including the context step I mentioned above. Be sure to save exemplary introductions for future use. And of course, that's a big reason why I'll be helping you create an introduction of your own to use in your classroom.
Build an introduction on your own
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Depending on your comfort level right now, you may choose to do one or both of the activities below. If you are very confident, skip ahead and create an introduction for your specific subject area. But if you think you can use the extra practice, I've listed some responses to our content-generation questions below, and your task is to turn these into an academic introduction. Remember that the first sentence or two may need more attention, because we need to turn a topic into the "context" section of our essay--something that's happening in the world.
For the first activity only, you can compare your results against mine upon submission. Remember that there are many possible solutions, so it's most important that the introduction signals the context of something that's happening in the world, a problem inside that context, and a solution or resolution. I recommend drafting in Microsoft Word before submitting your work via the link.
Q1: What are you talking about in class?
- Clean, "green" energy?
Q2: Why are you talking about that? Why does that matter?
- Because climate change is a growing danger that we probably need to address very soon.
Q3: Have you discussed anything controversial? Are there issues where people tend to disagree?
- Yes, our teacher asked, "Should the government make green energy production a requirement for power companies?"
Q4: Why is that controversial? What have others said about the topic?
- Well, it seems to fly in the face of freedom: the companies can't decide how to run themselves, the market is no longer free, and people might have to pay more (Tom Jones 2013 said that). On the other hand, it might save a lot of money over the next 50-150 years if we avoid further damage to the environment (John Smith 2014 said that).
Q5: So what do you think?
- Learners, feel free to provide your own thesis statement!
Build a model introduction for your subject area
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In this activity, you will have to work more independently. I will provide the content generation questions, but you have to answer them and turn them into an example introduction paragraph.
Tips:
- Think about an actual writing assignment from your class, especially one that calls for an introduction paragraph. Ideally, this model should be made for your student's reference, so try to choose the first relevant writing assignment of your course. Students will need to see this in the beginning of the course, not in the middle or end.
- Shorter, succinct answers tend to be more helpful when answering the question template. You don't want to end up with a two-page paragraph, so try to use the template as an opportunity to distill your thoughts if you can.
- As you move from the template to composing your paragraph, stay disciplined and don't stray too far from the template. Remember, the template holds the most important information for your reader, so there's a chance that other information is less appropriate for the introduction.
- Remember that some items are more flexible than others. Try putting your relevance statement after the problem statement, for example, or check if you really need to include voices. The only rigid, required items are the context, problem and solution.
Content-Generation Questions:
- So, what are you discussing in class these days? (topic - part of context)
- Why are you talking about that? / Why does that topic matter? (relevance)
- Have you discussed anything controversial as you explored the topic? // Are there any issues where people tend to disagree? (problem)
- Why is that controversial? / What have others said about the topic? (voices)
- So what do you think? (solution)
After you have completed your introduction, save it for use in your class! Also, I encourage you to submit it to this Wikipage database so that others can learn from the model you just created!
Create an introduction guide for your students
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This is the final product you'll create. Together, we'll create a handout you can deliver to students as you begin teaching introductions for your class. It's another template, and it's your job to distill what you've learned into a simple, easy-to-follow document. All of the answers can be found in this mini course, but I encourage you to put the information into your own words--remember that you'll need to explain these concepts to students on your own, so you'll need to internalize or "personalize" this knowledge.
To complete this project, download this interactive Word document and fill it out for your class. Don't just view it online--download it to access its interactive features. I hope you it's useful for you and your students.
Goodbye and Further Study
Thank you for your attention and time as you've completed this mini-course! Introductions, like many aspects of academic writing, shouldn't be esoteric knowledge cloaked in mystery. I encourage you to continue asking, "What do effective writers do here?" and to urge your students to find the patterns that so often underpin our composition choices. A good place to search for more information would be "genre pedagogy" or the book I mentioned int he first lesson, They Say I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein.
