Write Article Introduction
Writing the Introduction
Now that you’ve got the guts, it’s time to create the rest of the article.
You’ve got to do three things in your introduction:
1.capture your audience’s attention - make them want to read more
2.set the stage - provide a little background
3.lay it all out there - since the rest of your article explains and supports your introduction, you’ve got to tell the reader what you’re going to be explaining and supporting
Note - after you’ve written a few articles, reevaluate which method you prefer. Many people write the body first, then the intro, however, do whichever method is easiest and makes the best use of your time. (I know a few people who spend more hours hemming and hawing about their intro that nothing gets done.) Be aggressive with your time and use it wisely.
Ok, so on with the intro. Pull out your outline. We’ll use the bottom section, “other interesting points/facts” for an eye-catching introduction.
Other interesting points/facts
·UVA = wrinkling, saggy skin, leathery skin
·UVB = the main cause of the sunburn
·Both are a cause of skin cancer
·90% of skin cancers are from excessive exposure to sunlight
·in 2007, the most common type of cancer in the US is skin cancer
·one in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime
·more than 20 people die a day from skin cancer
·survival rate with early detection is 99%
·survival rate if cancer spreads lowers to 15% - 65%
1. Capture your audience’s attention - make them want to read more
A great way to do this is to use startling facts or statistics, something powerful enough to feel like a slap in the face.
The more your first sentence relates to the reader, the deeper his/her pull will be to read it. To do this, think about whom your reader is and what’s most important to him/her.
Since skin cancer affects everyone. That means people of all ages, sexes, lifestyles, backgrounds, and incomes may be reading this article. So your reader can literally be anyone, anywhere.
Your next job is to make an educated guess as to what is the one thing driving the reader to learn about this subject.
Chances are the readers have searched for this topic because they are driven by a specific reason. One possibility is that a concerned parent wants to know how to protect his/her children properly. Another is that the readers have had enough sunburns or strange discolorations that they’re taking notice. Yet another is the summer season’s coming up and the reader’s priding themselves in being prepared. The other option is that your readers are students doing a research paper.
In all these cases, you can assume your readers have looked up skin cancer because it has affected their personal life, his/her loved ones. Even the researcher is affected, because s/he wants a good grade.
With that in mind, try to use the one thing everyone has in common, their loved ones. Something like this:
Picture five of your loved ones standing in front of you. How do you feel knowing that one of these five loved ones will likely develop skin cancer during his or her life?
That’s definitely eye-catching. Now that we’ve grabbed the attention of the reader, it’s time to set the stage.
2. Set the stage - provide a little background
Here, the stage has been set to the reader know that the prevention of skin cancer is in his/her hands. You’re following up the question you’ve asked with the obvious answer.
The answer is obvious. You would do anything in your power to help him/her avoid getting skin cancer.
3. Lay it all out there - since the rest of your article explains and supports your introduction, you’ve got to tell the reader what you’re going to be explaining and supporting.
You last established the reader has some power in whether or not his/her loved one develops skin cancer. Now we’ll generalize the two things our reader can do to help his loved ones. In this case, it’s using sunscreen and wearing the right clothing.
The good news is that it can be prevented by choosing the proper sunscreen and wearing clothing that blocks the deadly UVA and UVB rays.
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