Writing Essays→ Introductory Paragraph
Level: Middle School
To write a good introductory paragraph, you need to interest your reader in what you have to say.
There are three types of topic sentence that work well to draw your reader in.
● The hook is a topic sentence that can be a question, quotation, or piece of information that
catches your reader’s attention.
● The plan is a topic sentence that tells your reader what to expect.
● The teaser is a topic sentence that builds curiosity and anticipation.
Read the paragraphs below. Write the name of the type of topic sentence used next to
each paragraph.
To be successful, athletes must develop good habits, plan, and train hard. Simple habits like getting
enough sleep and eating healthful foods help keep an athlete’s body in shape. An athlete’s training
involves not only practice in the skills needed for the game or race, but stretches and exercise to
increase fitness and avoid injury. Planning is also key for an athlete; training takes time and must be
balanced with work, social and family commitments. Stories follow from three of the world’s most
successful athletes explaining how they combined planning, good habits, and training to become the
best in their class. Type: __________________
Have you ever wanted to sleep in a tree house in Costa Rica or wake up in a Scottish castle? Catering to
a sense of imagination and adventure, some luxury hotels allow visitors to sleep in historic or unusual
places. Your experience as a guest might involve spending the night in a former jailhouse or sleeping
where staff wake you to see wildebeest, elephants, or even black rhinos visit the watering hole below.
There are vacation destinations to capture almost any imagination. Type: __________________
My visit to my dad began pretty much like every other trip I’ve taken, but it ended in the most
extraordinary way. It wasn’t that I didn’t have enough time to get ready, I’m used to cutting the time
pretty close. My mom didn’t even slow me up by asking me to do last minute chores or asking me
56 “Did you remember...” questions. It wasn’t even that the bus driver was new to the route, I checked
with the station master when I got back. I’m not sure what it was that made the bus go off course that
day, but that bus drove me straight into the weirdest day of my life. Type: __________________