Audience Awareness: Introductions
Ideally when we approach a piece of writing as readers, certain conditions exist that enable us to enjoy this social act of discourse. Primary is acknowledgment that the writer has somehow thought of us in preparing her discourse, much like a host taking into consideration a person's preferences when offering refreshments. The informed host does not offer Sara Lee Cheesecake to a known diabetic nor whiskey sours to a recovering alcoholic. Writers, too, must take care of such amenities to their guests, those oh so finicky readers.
The first indication of writer concern is a title that establishes at least a general idea of the topic, and perhaps, the writer's feeling toward the topic. For instance when a question mark ends the title, an astute reader knows that the writer is creating ambiguity, that the reader needs to be careful of the obvious, that all is not as it seems on the surface. Considerate writers use titles to aid the reader, to help in the difficult task of deciphering and understanding all of those little symbols on the page. However even if a title is bland or non-disclosing, a reader, once he has begun the task, will often overlook this slight show of bad manners and advance to the introduction to find writer concern and involvement.
If these attributes are not discovered in the introduction, a variety of things can happen:
- The guest reader puts down the page and finds different entertainment. Thus, hours laboring over the keyboard are wasted; the mental banquet goes into cold storage, waiting for some famished, undiscriminating reader.
- The reader continues reading but with an attitude that colors perception; fault is found over and over with the piece, but if asked, the reader probably can not verbalize why.
- The reader misses the point completely; language soufflé was the entrée; wordy pie is tasted. In the end, both writer and reader are disappointed by this easily avoided social faux pas.
Writing a digestible introduction is not as difficult as it seems if you allow yourself to experiment.
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Try not writing your introduction until after you have finished writing your essay. | |
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Try writing two or three different introductions, then read them to someone and ask for an opinion. | |
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Try using the last paragraph of the essay as your introduction. |
Whatever you do, pay attention to your audience; without them, there is no communication nor any reason to engage in this social activity, the act of writing.
Different ways to show audience consideration are
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anecdote--a brief story, with a point | |
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startling statement--rouse the reader by grabbing attention with an outré statement (careful with this as you have to prove your statement in the paper) | |
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summary--let them have it all at the beginning, effective for that staid audience | |
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quotation--authority in the introduction establishes ethos | |
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question--can be provocative, but this must be answered in the essay | |
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description--draw a picture, entice by visualization | |
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analogy--comparison help readers understand new information | |
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dialogue--an effective way to show tone | |
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statistics--good for the scientific crowd, or those who want information right away | |
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historical compare/contrast--highlights the problem | |
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general information to specific thesis--traditionalists like this | |
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statement of purpose--usually used only in formal argument | |
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provide background information--what led to the situation under discussion | |
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intriguing problem--show dilemma. |
However if you truly want to turn your guest away, try these:
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make generalities that you do not intend to develop | |
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start with flat statements "The purpose of this essay is...," " In this essay I will...," "I'm going to discuss...," "I read Harry Harrison's essay and feel that," "This is the big problem," "I think something needs to be done about ..." | |
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repeat the same phrase more than once | |
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apologize for your opinion or lack of knowledge | |
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use "seems"--either something is or it isn't | |
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promise what you can't deliver | |
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misspell words. |