Write the introduction to your argumentative essay. You may start off your essay with an introductory hook of some kind to grip the audience if you believe that this would be effective. Some of the most common examples of introductory hooks are as follows:
1. A question. This gets your audience thinking about your topic and makes them curious to read on to see if you will answer that question for them or provide information that will make it easier for them to answer the question themselves.
2. A shocking statement or statistic. This is also an effective way to arouse your readers’ curiosity and get them to read further because they will want an explanation, especially this statement contradicts what they believe they already know.
3. A quotation. You can build some ethos appeal with your readers by aligning yourself with an influential figure from history, politics, religion, philosophy, or even popular culture. This quote can also help set a theme or a tone for your essay. The quotation should be related to your topic and to your argument.
4. An anecdote. You might want to frame the problem you are writing about by illustrating how it affects real people. From a logos standpoint, one story or one example does not prove an argument (this is called the anecdotal fallacy), but this can be an effective pathos appeal by getting your readers to feel empathy for those who are affected by a problem. You can use what you learned in Unit 1 about storytelling and showing rather than telling if you go with this introductory hook.
Beyond the hook (if you use one at all), your introduction should answer the following questions for your audience:
1. What is this?
2. Why am I reading it?
3. What do you want me to do?
In other words, identify the topic, explain the importance (or exigence) of the issue to your audience (in other words, why should the audience care?), and write a thesis statement–that is, state your argument, which may very well be a call to action.
