smg10e

Write the opening sentences.

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Notice how the writers of the selections in this chapter have used their opening sentences to frame or reframe the issue for their readers while also grabbing their attention:

Jessica Statsky provides statistics to help readers understand the importance of her topic:

“Organized sports for young people have become an institution in North America,” reports sports journalist Steve Silverman, attracting more than 44 million youngsters according to a recent survey by the National Council of Youth Sports (“History”). (p. 250)
Richard Estrada uses personal reminiscence to make the issue less abstract and more tangible:

When I was a kid living in Baltimore in the late 1950s... (p. 256)
Amitai Etzioni uses a surprising statement to capture readers’ attention:

McDonald’s is bad for your kids. (p. 261)
Daniel J. Solove uses a hypothetical quotation to indicate how people typically think about the issue:

When the government gathers or analyzes personal information, many people say they’re not worried. “I’ve got nothing to hide,” they declare. (p. 266)

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Additional strategies you could try include comparing your issue to a different issue about which your readers may agree or using a rhetorical question to arouse your readers’ concerns about the issue. To engage your readers and set the stage for your position, try reworking your framing sentences (p. 278) and using them to open your essay, but do not agonize over the first sentences because you are likely to discover the best way to begin only after you have written a rough draft.