RWStudentIntroductions

On 10/9/03 Reading/Writing connection students were sent on a scavenger hunt in the computer lab. They were asked to find interesting online magazine articles & to email the introduction of these articles to me.

The immediate purpose of this exercise was to gain an awareness of the introduction strategies utilized by professional writers & to think about emulating these.

The long-range purpose of this exercise is to develop a life-long sensitivity to and desire to observe introductory styles .

The following are the introductions which caught our students' attention: ____________________________________________________________________

Ask the employees at Clay Aiken's record label, RCA, if they would listen to Aiken's debut album, Measure of a Man, by choice, and the response is almost uniform: a lengthy pause followed by laughter. RCA was the home of Elvis Presley, and its current roster includes critical favorites like the Strokes and the Foo Fighters. It's a rock label. Aiken, who came in second on the most recent installment of American Idol, is not only not a rocker, but, as he says in his aggressively self-deprecating way, "I'm not an artist. I'm just a guy who was on a reality show—and I didn't even win!" Humility aside, Aiken, 24, doesn't mind being doubted because he believes in his bones that his detractors are wrong. "There are many people at the record label who are afraid of me," he says. "They don't understand the reasons that someone as uncool as me is here. In a way—and this is a horrible word to say, and once I say it you're going to print it—it's a revolution

What does a real synfuel operation look like, the kind that can change a country's energy fortunes? The answer can be found 700 miles north of Montana near a onetime frontier outpost in Alberta called Fort McMurray. At Syncrude Canada's North Mine, a huge open pit nearly two miles across and 250 ft. deep, giant shovels scoop out a petroleum-soaked deposit called oil sand that is beginning a long journey from here into the gas tanks of American cars. The region contains enough of the crude mixture to produce an estimated 175 billion bbl. of oil, eight times the known deposits of conventional crude in the U.S. Time Mag.

· Student Comment: Both of these intros start with asking a question to get the reader interested . Student name????

Do We Need More Scientists?
By Michael S. Teitelbaum "The Public Interest" fall 2003

For much of the past two decades, predictions of an impending shortage of scientists and engineers in America have gained increasingly wide currency. The country is failing to produce scientists and engineers in numbers sufficient to fulfill its economic potential, the argument runs. The supposed causes are weaknesses in elementary, secondary, or higher education, inadequate financing of the fields, declining interest in science and engineering among American students, or some combination of these. Thus it is said that the United States must import students, scientists, and engineers from abroad to fill universities and work in the private sector—though even this talent pool may dry up eventually as more foreign nationals find attractive opportunities elsewhere.

Asking questions

Basketball on Paper
THAT IS THE NAME OF MY BOOK that came out of this website. It also came out of my experience coaching and scouting, but this site was really the generator. For the last couple years, I've been doing a number of new things to go with the work in here. For instance: How much benefit do Shaq andKobe provide their teammates by being able to create their own shots? What are some of the best offenses and defenses in NBA history? How did they get so good? Was it talent or structure? How should a team structure its offense to be most successful? How can we improve measurements of defense? Who are the greatest players in NBA history and how many wins did they contribute?

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Reader’s Digest

It's time to rate your mate! The Relationship Report Card allows you and your partner to rate each other on 25 relationship skills. Grade your significant other using the rating form below, click "submit" and then invite your mate to grade you. You'll then receive a customized report card based on both of your responses, with advice from romance coach Greg Godek.

A 75-year-old woman developed sudden shortness of breath at 1130. By 1400 her breathing had deteriorated, requiring her son to bring her to the emergency department (ED). Her medical history included hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but she had no hospitalizations in the previous 5 years. Her medications included metoprolol and hydrochlorothiazide, as well as salbutamol and ipratropium bromide by inhalers

Background Information Leading up to Main Story
Intro from magazine- Soap Opera Digest- Guiding Light

Guiding Light's Tammy Winslow grew up in a hurry when Stephanie Gatschet assumed the role from Katie Sagona last year. As part of Springfield's teen scene, Gatschet's Tammy has a lot on her plate. Her mom, Cassie, is dating former nemesis/brother-in-law, Edmund, while also butting heads with Jeffrey, the new DA who is a dead-ringer for Cassie's dead husband, Richard. Where does that leave Tammy? Front and center this summer, according to Gatschet.

Seven wide-eyed anglophones living, working and being filmed around the clock for 4 months, together in Paris... Is that a mischievous cultural experiment, or every young person’s fantasy come true?

· Student Comment: Introductory paragraph tells a story which gets the reader excited and wanting to read more. Danielle

ESPN Magazine

NEW YORK -- We know the storyline by heart, we've memorized the faces, the mannerisms and all the stats. We've consumed the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry so many times, it's become a stone-cold addiction. There are only two points of light in this baseball universe -- the Bronx and the Green Monster, and soon there will be just one.

*Student Comment: Uses Descriptive, catchy words S. Mills

"Vietnam is still with us. It has created doubts about American judgment, about American credibility, about American power--not only at home, but throughout the world. It has poisoned our domestic debate. So we paid an exorbitant price for the decisions that were made in good faith and for good purpose."
--Henry Kissinger in Stanley Karnow's Vietnam: A History

Student Comment: This introduction starts off with a quote from another person which gives insight. Danille Ba.

Source?
Charlie company had never done a foot patrol in downtown Fallujah before. There's a good reason: Fallujah is the most dangerous place in Iraq for a U.S. soldier to set boots to ground. The 82nd Airborne Division took command of Fallujah and its environs last month and wants to increase its presence inside the town that plays host to Iraq's most active resistance network. Taming the city that detonates an average of three homemade bombs a day against coalition forces is a duty of the 1-505 Parachute Infantry Regiment. On Thursday afternoon, Charlie Company's first platoon took the inaugural walk through the middle of town. The battalion commander was just sitting down to meet with a committee of local sheiks at the mayor's office when the shooting started across the street.

· Student Comment: This introduction is interesting to me because it grabs the reader. It makes them want to keep reading about the article. It strikes me personally because my cousin is part of an airborne division in the army. Caitlin H

F.B.I. Law Enforcement Bulletin

While conducting a river boat patrol on a hot summer evening, two waterways conservation officers (WCOs) encountered a boat speeding toward several young swimmers. The officers directed the female operating the boat to slow down, but she ignored them. The officers turned their craft around, ran it alongside the female’s boat, and turned on their emergency lights and siren. The woman continued to ignore the officers’ approach. At that point, the WCOs physically took control of her boat and stopped it, still with no reaction from the subject. The smell of alcohol was evident, and the woman appeared to be in a stupor. When the officers placed her under arrest for boating under the influence (BUI), she immediately became combative, kicking, flailing her arms, and screaming obscenities. The officers managed to get the woman onto their boat and escorted her to the shore where they called for a local police transport to the WCOs’ patrol car. As the officers attempted to get her off of their boat, she again became physically and verbally combative. Tests showed that the woman’s blood alcohol content was four times over the legal limit, and a check of her criminal history revealed that she had a previous DUI conviction. She later pled guilty to BUI and simple assault charges.

Time Magazine

At first light, Russian troops in combat gear move slowly along one of
Grozny's ruined main streets, past makeshift crosses erected to their fallen
comrades. Hugging the edge of the road to avoid snipers, they peer into the
bushes, looking for radio-controlled mines and booby traps laid overnight by
Chechen separatists. The soldiers — young conscripts fresh from the
provinces and professionals here for the money — are tense, but they barely
glance at most Chechens passing by. And the Chechens ignore them. The
Russians don't find any mines this morning, and at a
concrete-and-barbed-wire checkpoint, their comrades inspecting cars and
buses don't catch any rebels. They occasionally rough up the drivers and
often demand bribes, but the guerrillas know very well how this game is
played. "Stick some money out the window, and they don't check anything,"
says a self-described mujahid. Ordinary residents like Zinaida, a clerical
worker with a teenage son, are happy just to see another dawn. "Night is our
hell," she says — a time when soldiers descend on homes, beat down doors and
take away young men suspected of rebel activities. Most are never seen
again.

Epoxy Floor
Achieve auto showroom brilliance in one long weekend for less than $500. Imagine pulling onto an auto showroom floor every evening after work. That's the feeling you'll get pulling into your own garage if you give the floor a durable epoxy finish.

· Student Comment: This article is about how to make your garage feel like an automobile showroom. Matt B.

The more things change, the more they, well, kinda suck. The thousands of readers who voted in this year's 11th Hour Reader's Choice Awards found little to choose from -- except, of course, in the Worst Movie and Worst Series category. In a year where Battlefield Earth actually had legitimate competition for the worst picture of the year, you know we've got some problems. However, there were a few bright spots in 2000, as seen from your selections -- both the choices made and the way you made them. As always, 11th Hour readers revealed their fine taste in movies, television and men (and, okay, women too), and did so with wit, style and a wrath so strong, we'd love to sic the lot of you on John Travolta. And Chris Carter. And, as a reward, James Marsters. The pickings may be slim, the surprises may be few, but we've got to say -- our readership rules. See you guys next year, where hopefully, mercifully, we'll be basking in Harry Potter, A.I., and Lord of the Rings while waiting in line for Episode 2. Cross your fingers, and keep in touch. “Mutants, Mutant Enemy, and other nominees for the best of 2000” The 11^th Hour, Feb 2001

· Student Comment: I like this beginning paragraph because it starts with an unusual fact stating that there wasn’t a great selection of choices to vote for. Jill

· Teacher Comment: I do not know the source of this article, but my guess is it does not come from a reputable magazine, as the language is unpolished. L. Walkup

Mel Odom lives a life fraught with danger. Fictional danger, that is. For the most part. "I've been writing professionally for thirteen years. I sold my first book January the 8th. Elvis' birthday, 1988. I was so excited 'cause I got up the next morning and looked at myself in the mirror and thought I really was an author. Then I had an accident on the highway on the way to my Mom's house. It was a head-on collision. I bounced off the side of the road into a van. I got out of the car to check on my kids, 'cause the kids were very small at that time. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the middle of the street in a pool of blood and I thought, 'You know, I'm gonna die. That's really good. I sell my first book yesterday I'm gonna die today.'" Tara O'Shea “Mel Odom on writing, media tie-ins, and undead Green Berets” The 11^th Hour, Feb. 2001

Saddam Captured, Disguised and Dusty
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, The Associated Press

Worldwide Outbreak Of Deadly Influenza Just A Matter Of Time!
As Many As 650,000 People Could Die, Dwarfing Even Bad Season Like This Year . New York — As bad as this year's flu season is, it hasn't brought the worldwide outbreak known as a pandemic. But experts warn that a pandemic is coming, it's just a question of when. “It's going to happen,” said Dr. Greg Poland of the Mayo Clinic. “For the American public in particular, I think it will be horrific.” Many Americans haven't experienced the overwhelming crush of patients at hospitals and doctors' offices and the widespread fear a flu pandemic could bring. And by historical pattern, Poland said it's about time for the next one. There have been three in the past 100 years, igniting in 1918, 1957 and 1968. There's no way to predict when the next one will appear, but the pattern does give experts pause.