How to start the first sentence of a college essay - Sample Graduate Application Essay, Graduate Essay

The historical event also paved the way for Senator Clinton as she warmed her own vocal chords in preparation for a presidential race. Finding the Hook In each example, the first sentence draws the reader in to find out how the interesting fact leads to a point.

Some people might find a deep and mysterious meaning in this fact … Definition: A homograph is a word with two or more pronunciations. Produce is one example … Anecdote: Yesterday morning I watched as my older sister left for school with a bright white glob of toothpaste gleaming on her chin.

I felt no regret at all until she stepped onto the bus … Supporting Sentences The body of your introductory paragraph should fulfill two functions: You'll find that this is much easier than it sounds.

How to Construct an Essay | Josh May

Just follow the pattern you see in the above examples. End With a Good Beginning Once you complete a first draft of your paper, go back to re-construct your introductory paragraph.

Then you would rebut, or answer, the counter-argument as a way to strengthen your own position. The factual assumption in this example is that racism is a thing of the past. One response would be to muster facts to show that racism continues to be a problem.

The analytical assumption is that learning about racism can make you racist. The response would be that understanding the causes of a problem is not the same as causing or creating the problem.

Faulty Values Who cares if students are racist? The key is to base your arguments on values that most readers are likely to share.

Many students are, in fact, already familiar with racism. You might be very familiar with racism but still not know what causes it. This is a very common form of counter-argument, one that actually rebuts a different argument.

Previous generations supposedly did function adequately in civic life. The response shows that that assumption is incorrect.

Top When should a counter-argument be conceded? Sometimes you come up with a counter-argument that you think is true and that you think responds to your actual argument, not some other point.

Then you are faced with a choice: Do you abandon your thesis and adopt the counter-argument as your position? The new version might look like this: So, studying racism might just make them want to be racist out of sheer contrariness.

How to Construct an Essay

Then, you refine your original thesis to say something like this: This also takes away some of the reasons a reader might have to disagree with you. Top What makes a good counter-argument? Some counter-arguments are better than others.

You want to use ones that are actually somewhat persuasive. Two things to look for are reasonableness and popularity. On the other hand, you may be quite sure of your position, which makes it harder to see other views as reasonable.

They all look flawed to you because you can point out their errors and show why your view is better.