If you feel that you’ve mastered the traditional approach to an introduction described in Part I, then maybe it’s time to try out some additional strategies for beginning your essay. These include using anecdotes, rhetorical questions, and definitions. Just like in Part I, imagine you are responding to this prompt from the GRE Issue Essay Pool: “As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate.”
Beginning with an anecdote
• Begin your essay with an anecdote, or a short story that is relevant to the topic. Maybe you remember what life was like before the Internet, and how creative you had to be when writing research papers because you couldn’t “just Google it.” Maybe you have an Amish relative who doesn’t use technology.
• Whatever anecdote you choose, it should support the position you plan to take. You can either use the anecdote as the jumping-off point for the traditional introduction described above, or, instead of following the standard five-paragraph essay format, you can use the anecdote as an extended example to support your position (see “Structuring the GRE Issue Essay.”
Rhetorical questions
• You can also begin your essay with a series of rhetorical questions. For the technology example, you might start with something like, “What would our world be like without technology? Would we be more creative if we didn’t have Google to rely on for everything?”
• Now, proceed with Steps 2 and 3 of the traditional introduction.
Definitions
• Sometimes, when developing your argument, it is helpful to define key terms, especially if there is a possibility that the reader might have a different definition in mind. For example, people have different ideas about what it means for human beings to think for themselves. Some readers might see looking up information using a search engine as a sign of dependence or laziness, while others might argue that the ability to think for oneself refers to critical thinking. For this reason, when responding to the claim that technology causes our ability to think for ourselves to deteriorate, you might want to begin your essay with your own definition of “independent thought.”
• After defining your term(s), complete steps two and three of the traditional introduction.
Ephemeral GirlyGirl 