"Freeze Dried": The Basic Introductory Paragraph &
its "Hook," Transition, and 2-Part Thesis

[NOTE: This model is called the "freeze dried" version because it reduces the Introductory
Paragraph to its lowest common denominators. It is from this point you can inflate the essay to
as many pages you require. Once you understand this concept, you can then expand each area,
responding at deeper levels of information.]

Introductory Paragraph

The "Hook":

Attention-grabbing information, or what Hacker refers
to as "a few sentences that engage the reader" (11-12).

The Transition:

The "glue" which smoothly takes the reader from the
Hook to the Thesis. Hacker, again, offers some clear
examples which can be used for either or both the
Hook and the Transition (26-28).

The Thesis:

A Thesis is a concise statement ( in one or more sentences )
which declares the Main Idea (purpose or intent), followed
by a short statement of the Supporting Ideas.

Part 1 -The "declarative statement," which briefly
declares the Main Idea, or the paper's objective--its point.

Part 2 -The "summary statement," which gives two or
more Supporting Ideas to the Main Idea.
_____________________________________________________________________________

The Body

Making the transition from the Introductory Paragraph to the Body of the essay:

Topic sentence of Supporting Idea # 1 : _____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Topic sentence of Supporting Idea #2:_______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Topic sentence of Supporting Idea #3 (optional):_____________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Conclusion