The Art of Grabbing the Reader's Attention

What would you rather read?

Art is something that has no true definition because everybody looks at it in a different way. In the article....

OR

Imagine yourself walking down the street in your hometown. Do you see any art? How do you know that what you are seeing can be considered art? The majority of society has differing opinions of what art is, which makes it hard to find the true meaning. The fact of the matter is, there is no true definition of art because art can be so many things. In the article....

                                                          (Photo: Morguefile, Edited: Me)

Many people would agree that the second option is more enjoyable to read because it sparks interest in the audience. Writing an introduction is an art of sorts because it takes some time to develop a sentence or two that will hook the reader and cause them to WANT to keep reading. How many times have you been asked to read an article or novel for a class and have been completely bored by the third sentence? Nobody likes to read boring papers so lets make sure that you are not producing any.

Tips:

• The Imagine Introduction
• This is my favorite way to start an essay because it seems to work every time. Take a close look at the way I wrote the second option. Take your prompt and think of all of the possible stances that you could take on the subject. 
• The definition of art: There is one solid definition or there are millions of different definitions.
• Next address the topic in a general way- try to avoid starting off with your stance on the subject because that may stop some people from reading immediately. 
• For the art topic, I thought about all of the places that you can see art and the idea that what I may think is art may not be art to another person.
• Now, tell your audience to imagine doing something related to your topic. Do not be afraid to nudge the reader in the right direction by asking questions about what they might see or feel about the topic.
• I had a student come in with an article about stars and inspiration who was having a hard time coming up with an introduction. We worked one out that sounds something like:
• "Imagine looking up at a night sky full of stars. What are you thinking as you look up at them? Are they inspiring you to do something like write or paint? Do you see your loved ones up in the sky? In the article -----, the author discusses how the stars have influenced many people, including Native Americans, poets, and scientists."
• Give your reader options. The student got all of those ideas about seeing loved ones and being inspired to write from the article. Feel free to take what you have learned from your source and use it to your advantage.
• Once you have your imagine statement and questions, you can go into your thesis statement or explain a little about the text that you are discussing in your essay. Go with whatever option flows the best with your paper. You may have to experiment with what sounds the best but eventually these introductions will become so easy that you will be able to rephrase them and create your own style.
• Other forms of introductions include
• Questions- You can question your audience without using the imagine statement at the beginning. The process would be much like the last few steps of the imagine introduction. Do not be afraid to give your reader options because it does not matter if he/she agrees with you, it matters that they are interested enough to read your points.
• Quotes- Using a quote is a great option especially if it is taken out of the text that you are reading. Make sure that you cite the source accurately!
• NOTE: You should never begin a sentence with a quote
• "Art means different things to different people."
• Instead start by stating where the quote is coming from
• According to ---, "art means different things to different people."
• In the article the author states, "-----"

Good luck and keep writing!