AP® English Language and Composition review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/lang/units/4/4-1)
Unit 4 · Topic 4.1
4.1 Introductions that orient and engage readers
An introduction tells readers what the argument is about, and sometimes who is making it, and often gives the thesis. The opening move, whether a story, a question, a number or something else, should fit the audience and the purpose.
Key terms
- introduction
- hook
- context
- thesis
What an introduction has to do
An introduction answers three questions for the reader: What is this about? Why should I care? Where is this going? It introduces the subject, and sometimes the writer, especially when the writer's identity matters to the argument. It may state the thesis, though some writers hold it back. And it orients readers (gives them what they need to follow), engages them (makes them want to keep reading) and focuses them (narrows the topic to the real issue).
Ways to open
| Opener | Example (written for this page) | Works best when |
|---|---|---|
| Quotation | "'Time makes more converts than reason,' Thomas Paine wrote." | A respected voice frames the issue |
| Surprising statement | "The most dangerous part of your school day may be the bus stop." | The audience assumes the opposite |
| Anecdote | "At 6:10 a.m., my sister was already waiting in the dark for the bus." | A story makes an abstract issue real |
| Question | "What would you give up to get an extra hour of sleep?" | You want readers to test their own views |
| Statistic or data | "More than half of the students we surveyed sleep under seven hours a night." | Size or scale is the point |
| Background | "For decades, our district has started high school at 7:15." | Readers need context to follow |
| Scenario | "Imagine a school day that starts when your brain actually wakes up." | You want readers to picture an alternative |
Matching the opening to the situation
No opener is best in general; the right one depends on the audience and purpose. A skeptical audience may need background and a calm tone before anything provocative. A friendly audience may respond to a story or a call to shared identity. An audience that doesn't know the issue exists may need a surprising fact. When you analyze a published introduction, ask why that writer chose that opening for those readers.
Introductions on timed essays
On the exam, keep your introduction short: two to four sentences that give a little context and end with your thesis. Readers don't score the introduction separately, but it holds your thesis, and a clear one earns the Row A point. Skip giant openers like "Since the beginning of time" and dictionary definitions; they waste minutes and tell the reader nothing. For Question 2, a sentence that names the writer, the situation and the purpose sets up your analysis well.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
How Paine's introduction prepares a skeptical audience
Thomas Paine's Common Sense (January 1776) argued that the colonies should break completely from Britain, a radical idea to many colonists then. Its introduction begins: "Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason." Explain how this introduction orients and engages its audience.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Situation: many colonists in early 1776 still hoped to reconcile with Britain. Paine expects resistance.
- Step 2: Choice 1: he admits up front that his ideas are "not yet sufficiently fashionable." That predicts the reader's objection before the reader can make it.
- Step 3: Choice 2: he explains why people resist, because "a long habit" makes the familiar seem right. That quietly suggests that loyalty to the king is habit, not reason.
- Step 4: Choice 3: short sentences ("But the tumult soon subsides") and a quotable line ("Time makes more converts than reason") make the case confident and memorable.
- Step 5: Effect: readers are prepared to feel uncomfortable and are told that discomfort is just habit fading.
Answer: Model paragraph: Paine knows his readers may recoil from the idea of independence, so his introduction disarms them before the argument begins. He admits his views are "not yet sufficiently fashionable," which names the reader's likely objection first. Then he redefines that objection: a "long habit of not thinking a thing wrong" only gives it "a superficial appearance of being right." Without mentioning the king, Paine suggests that loyalty to Britain rests on habit rather than reason. His closing line, "Time makes more converts than reason," assures readers that their resistance is temporary, inviting them to keep reading even if they aren't yet convinced.
Common mistakes
- Writing long "funnel" introductions that start with huge generalizations and waste time on a timed essay.
- Opening with a dictionary definition of an ordinary word.
- Forgetting the thesis, or burying it in the middle of the introduction where readers may miss it.
- Choosing a dramatic hook that doesn't fit the audience or purpose.
On the exam
- Writing questions may ask which sentence would best open a passage or provide needed context. Choose the one that fits the writer's audience and purpose, not the most dramatic option.
- On essays, end your short introduction with your thesis so readers can find it right away.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 4.1 Introductions that orient and engage readers. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Written for this practice set: the opening of a student's draft of an argument for the town newspaper.
The writer wants to replace sentence 1 with a more engaging opening that leads into the topic. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?
Sentence 3 is important to the introduction mainly because it
Which of the following best describes the order of sentences 2–4?
Some newspaper readers have never been to the market. Which sentence in the introduction best helps these readers picture it?
0 of 4 answered