Making a Controversial Statement

• Start off with a controversial assertion in the introduction of the paper and then explain how it is true for the case you are writing about. For example, if you were writing a paper on lizards, you might begin a paper by announcing that dinosaurs are still walking the earth and then go on to explain that lizards and birds are related by evolution to dinosaurs. The purpose is not to show how a falsehood is true. Rather, it is to grab the reader with an unusual perspective on the subject. Showing how your subject matter relates to our assumptions can be a way to interest your reader and inspire him to read on.
  
  

Ask a Question

• Another great way to involve the reader is to ask a question outright. For example, if your paper is on French impressionism, begin the paper by asking the reader if impressionism is actually beautiful --- or if we have just become accustomed to seeing it that way. Then you can reveal that initially impressionist painting was considered ugly and even sometimes obscene. Begin with a question that will draw your reader along as you develop your position.
  
  

Provide a Wider Context

• Start by establishing the larger significance of your paper. For example, in a paper on the first World War, you might begin this way: "Wars make heroes, yet they also make fools. In no war is this more true than the first world war. Both in its origin and in its execution, this war showed the folly of men." This technique allows the writer to demonstrate a larger contradiction. The focus moves from the celebration of glory to the observation of mistakes, which parallels what happened in the war.
  
  

Begin with a Quotation

• A quotation will connect your paper to existing writing on the subject. Starting with this, you can either highlight how your thesis agrees with the existing thinking or how it goes against dominant perspectives. Some of the most interesting thinking happens when writers question conventional statements. For example, in a paper on Thomas Jefferson, you might begin with the following: "'All men are created equal,' or so Thomas Jefferson wrote. In fact, Jefferson owned hundreds of slaves, and is one of the great paradoxes of United States history." After quoting Jefferson, you show how his life reveals a contradiction to his famous statement in the Declaration of Independence. The difference between the statement and the reality shows an interesting opposition between Jefferson the hero and Jefferson the man with all his weaknesses.