Strong Introductory Paragraph

Here is an example of a strong introductory paragraph for the Understanding Emotion assignment.

This was written by Sarah Leggette from 101 M24c.

Everyone has it; your family members, your friends, your neighbors, the stranger on the street, even you, you've all got it. We all have and exercise it constantly each and every day. No matter who you are: girl, man, woman, or boy, no matter your status, background, IQ, or even your shoe size, you were all born with and possess the power of choice, and truly, choice is a powerful commodity to have. Choice is the decisions we make all the time, from as simple as which shirt to wear to more complex as which college to attend or if you'll attend one at all. Our lives are built around the choices we make, but fear also plays a vital role in choice; it can propel good choices, force bad choices or paralyze our ability to choose altogether.

Sarah clearly uses what Trimble terms the "front door" approach to opening her paper. She jumps right in to her topic and evokes the reader's interest. She also has a strong thesis statement that explores the relationship between fear and choice, and the body of her paper goes on to support this claim.