Skip to Main Content

Lesson 3

We will incorporate the thesis statement into an introductory paragraph as we begin the composition of our essay for the Culminating Task.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I develop my Culminating Task draft into a focused, structured, and coherent piece of writing by using an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, topic, and context?

  • Can I develop my Culminating Task draft into a focused, structured, and coherent piece of writing by developing an engaging idea reflecting depth of thought with specific details, examples, and commentary?

Texts

There are no texts for this Lesson.

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read

We will draft an introductory paragraph and incorporate our preliminary thesis statement at the end of the paragraph.

Step 1

Review your Organizing Evidence Tool and supporting claims, as well as your previous notes and tools. Ask the following questions as you begin drafting the first paragraph of the essay in completion of the unit’s Culminating Task:

  1. How do you introduce your audience to the topic of your essay? What do they need to know about The Odyssey in order to understand what you intend to say?

  2. Is there any background information they may need? Definitions of terms? A bit of context about the poem? A meaningful quotation? Something else?

  3. Who is your audience? Is it only your teacher? Is it a general audience? A specialized readership?

  4. How will knowing your audience affect what you say in the first paragraph and the remainder of the essay?

  5. How can you lead into and set the stage for your central claim?

Step 2

Review your Vocabulary Journal. Identify content or academic vocabulary that you would like to use in your response to the Culminating Task.

Review your Mentor Sentence Journal. Select at least one technique that you plan to use when writing your response to the Culminating Task.

Activity 2: Write

We will begin the introductory paragraph by writing an introductory sentence.

Write an introductory sentence for your first paragraph, also known as the hook. Hooks are usually—but not always—the first sentence of a paragraph and draw the reader in. They often answer a why, how, or where question.

Consider expressing a compelling idea or quotation about power (definition, description, claim, etc.) that builds toward your thesis statement as you introduce the topic.

Activity 3: Write

We will draft the introductory paragraph of the essay for the Culminating Task, bookending it with the introductory sentence we wrote as a hook and the preliminary thesis statement, which will serve as our overall main idea for the essay.

Use the introductory sentence and thesis statement you drafted to develop an introduction to your essay, bookending what you want to say to your audience to introduce them to the essay between the first sentence and the thesis, which will be your concluding sentence for the paragraph.

Ensure your first paragraph does the following:

  • begins with a lead hook to catch the reader’s interest

  • explains your purpose and introduces the topic (You might choose to frame the prompt you are addressing here.)

  • provides any necessary background information for your thesis statement or central claim

  • presents your thesis statement or central claim (The rest of the paper will consistently relate back to this statement.)

Activity 4: Discuss – Write

We will generate some peer and teacher feedback on the paragraph we wrote, including the introductory sentence and thesis statement, as we work to improve our writing process.

First, share your paragraph with a partner. As you share, consider the following questions and make constructive notes for yourself and your partner about ways to improve your paragraphs:

  1. Does the hook generate interest? How so? If not, what might the writer do to improve it?

  2. Do the sentences of the introductory paragraph connect and build toward the thesis? Are they specific enough without being too technical or requiring citation?

  3. Is the thesis statement specific? What makes it specific? In other words, how does it lend itself to interpretation, or how is it vague or simply a statement of fact? Does it answer the prompt? How so?

Make any revisions to your paragraph based on your partner’s feedback.