Introductions in the Humanities

When you begin a paper, it’s important not only to introduce the topic that you’re writing about, but also the way you’ll be writing about it. Your papers in the humanities will almost always involve close readings of texts (whether they are stories, movies, paintings, etc.), so what better way than to start your paper immediate with a close reading of the text? This has numerous advantages:

• Your reader knows from the first sentence what you’re writing about

• Your reader knows the style of argument you’re pursuing right away without having to
wade through a semi-relevant hook or introduction

• You prove right away that your large-scale thesis is based on close observation of the text

• You’re beginning with something your reader doesn’t know because no one knows your personal interpretation of the text

For today’s in-class assignment, I want you to re-write your Feeder 3.2 introduction. Begin the paper with an image of one of the pieces you’re interpreting, and rather than starting with some kind of general statement begin by going straight into an analysis of the piece with no wind-up at all. Note these examples of literary journal articles that begin in just this way:

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/eighteenth-century_studies/v043/43.2.cleary.html

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/eighteenth-century_life/v034/34.1.weinbrot.html

Once you’ve written a sentence or two, show it to your group members and ask them if it sounds like analysis or a slow wind-up. If your group members approve, show it to me and I’ll tell you whether or not I think you’ve started strong. After I’ve approved your initial thought, revise the rest of your introductory paragraph, moving as quickly as possible from this analytic beginning to a concise statement of your thesis.