Introduction:
Your Checklist
When composing any written work this year, whether it’s objective research or related to literary analysis, you should use this checklist to help you determine whether you’ve written an appropriate introduction. If not, you may need to revise based on these expectations.
- Does it have an engaging hook that avoids cliché? If it has a “have you ever” or “imagine if,” you need to revise.
- Does it provide brief context for the work or topic you are examining?
- Does it terminate in an argumentative thesis? If yes, does that thesis make a provable claim? (*This claim may either answer your research question or determine an argument for the paper).
CURRENT EVENTS:
-Introduce your current event OR begin with context regarding Transcendentalism
-Provide BRIEF background to help focus your topic
-Transition to your thesis using a rhetorical “bridge” between your hook/background and thesis
-Present a thesis that:
- Identifies your current world issue
- Identifies your two tenets of Transcendentalism
- Provides a provable interpretation of how those two tenets of Transcendentalism would engage with your current world issue
- Is no more than 1-2 sentences
In today’s world, one does not have to look very far for evidence of technology’s omnipresence. Whether observing others walking through a shopping mall or watching students between classes, it is rare to see anyone without their face buried in the glowing screen of a smartphone. While technology, and smartphones in particular, has done a lot to improve communication and efficiency, it has also irrevocably damaged the ability of people to connect with others and the world around them. Although the 19th century philosophical sect of Transcendentalism no longer carries much weight in today’s world, its major tenets reveal some potential wisdom in how to combat mobile technology’s grip on our daily lives; namely in rejecting materialism and embracing the pure creativity that exists within our intuition.
BIO:
-Introduce your figure with a quote, fact, or anecdote OR begin with context regarding Transcendentalism
-Provide BRIEF background to help focus your topic
-Transition to your thesis using a rhetorical “bridge” between your hook/background and thesis
-Present a thesis that:
- Identifies your biographical subject
- Identifies your two tenets of Transcendentalism
- Provides a provable interpretation of how those two tenets of Transcendentalism manifest in the life of your biographical subject (&what may have caused them)
- Is no more than 1-2 sentences
In today’s world, defined as it is by constant connection and a breakneck pace, it would be difficult to imagine a person being able to truly isolate themselves in nature. However, in the mid-19th century, when romanticism and the burgeoning philosophical sect of Transcendentalism loomed large, such isolation was the primary goal of many seeking inner-peace and meaning in life; most notably, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau was a disciple of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and his unconventional lifestyle defined him as a true nonconformist. Through his primal connection with nature and his eschewing of society’s rules and regulations, Thoreau successfully embodied the tenets of Transcendentalism.