Alba English

Materials for Class

Arrangement - Write an Introduction Paragraph

There are many ways to write an introduction. This is ONE way.

Section content Example
General Background (GB) category of topic cheap clothes
Specific Background (SB) Name specific topic cotton
Importance Background (IB) Why care? Why important? causes suffering/pollution
Thesis statement - Topic   cotton production
Thesis statement - Main idea compare? argue? how to? description-problems-solution
Keywords - optional one word per paragraph (main idea = keyword, so not needed)

GB - General Background

Type: Example
“Many”: Many people regularly use/drink/buy/wear X without thinking.
“In Japan,”: In Japan, it’s taken for granted that X, . However…
“Every day”: Every day, many/most students use/drink/buy/wear X
“Most”: Most people use X every day.
Number: Three million tons of X are used every day (Smith, 1999), …
Quote: According to the WWF (2013) the world today is “addicted to oil”, and …
List: 1, 2, 3, and 4 are all products commonly use in Japan. All of these …

SB - Specific background - Name and define your topic

Type: Example
One of the most + ADJ One of the most endangered animals is the Harp Seal, which
Of these Of these, the most endangered animals is the Harp Seal, which
The most The most common type of Tuna is Bluefin, which…
particularly Plastic bags are a particularly harmful kind of waste.
especially Harp Seals, which live in Tokyo, are especially endangered.
Following a GB “List” All of these are/contain …
Use a partition There are three main kinds of X - 1, 2, and 3 - of which

IB - Importance background

THESIS STATEMENT

Full Examples

Many students in this University own leather products, mostly as bags or shoes. The most common animal used to make the leather for these is the cow. However, cow leather is often produced in a way that causes suffering for the cows and problems for the environment. This essay first describes how cow leather is made, then looks at some problems it causes and some possible solutions to those problems

As Prime Minister Abe noted recently, the Japanese economy is “improving rapidly”. This is in part due to increased car exports in the developing world. Since the Japanese economy relies heavily on this industry, it is an important topic for the future. This essay compares the approach of two car makers to this expanding market - Mitsubishi and Suzuki.

Most people in Japan take for granted that if they get sick, they can go to the hospital and get help. However, this is not always true in the developing world, where access to medicine and doctors can be difficult. This is a problem because if people cannot access medical help, it shortens their life and damages the economy of the country. This essay uses the example of one country - Afghanistan - as a case study to examine this problem, then looks at whether the lessons learned there can be applied elsewhere.

In the world, there are 6.3 billion vehicles (“Cars,” n.d.), and they all need fuel to drive. Most cars run on fossil fuels, however there are a number of biofuels, of which the most common is made from corn. However, not all of this is made in an ethical way, and its production can cause problems. This essay first describes how corn-based biofuel is made, then looks at some problems it causes and some possible solutions to those problems