Post #3 -- Introductions

Introductions
Max Bittker

8:45 am, September eleventh 2001, the New York street bustled with the well-rehearsed chaotic movement of a million people making their way between apartment complexes, coffee shops, MTA entrances, and their offices. It took the roaring silver silhouette of a jet plane exploding over the block and just as quickly over them and out of sight.

This was my original introduction, and I don’t think it’s very special because it tries to set the scene but doesn’t give a strong enough “hook” nor mental image with which to build off of.

1) State a Problem or Dilemma:

On September 11th, a city was struck with tragedy, terror, and confusion.


2) Ask a good question:

What would it be like to have been in the city on the fateful eleventh of September? What could have been going through the minds of the people who were so close to the screaming and to whom the smoke was so real?  


3) Start with a striking fact:

The towers could be seen burning for 20 miles in every direction. Millions of people could see the bellowing black omen, but almost no-one understood what exactly was happening

My favorite is the striking fact, but I think that it could also be combined with the problem or dilemma. Both of them would steer my piece more towards my topic, which was supposed to be people confused and afraid about what was going on when they had very limited information.

#2 The Concrete Introduction

1)
    I thought that The Concrete Introduction was a very valuable piece, it had lots of golden nuggets of advice and it really made me feel like I could make any introduction great using it's guide. The main thing that I took away from this is the idea of writing the introduction after the body, because it just makes sense (except for SAT format essays when you need to plan ahead and use the introduction to shape the rest of your essay because you don't have time to rewrite).

2)
 The best part of the second reading was that it was like a reference sheet. It felt like the perfect thing to clear up any indecision or writers block when it came to the beginning of any piece. Its something I would almost like to keep on hand as its own sheet as apposed to buried in a packet in my folder. The title of the piece was "beginnings and endings" but the endings bit was lopped off, and I think that I would have also liked to read that, especially if it was in the same format.

#1 Welcome Entry

My name is Max, and welcome to my College Composition blog. I'm taking this class because I know that writing and conveying ideas effectively is important, and I want to hone my skills before I go to college. I've already learned a lot about the drafting process, and I hope to learn how to better overcome writers block and get what I need down on paper.