English Class

Module Four Preliminary Introduction Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

In this assignment, you will use artifacts from past assignments to form the introduction of your project. Specifically, this assignment will assist you with continuing to work with identifying the topic of the text, describing the writer’s purpose, articulating the core idea of the text, and summarizing details of the text that are relevant to the core idea.

Directions

For this assignment, you will write a preliminary introduction for the first version of your paper. You have already identified the topic, the audience and their needs, and the writing situation. Additionally, you have written a thesis statement. Now, it is time to put all these elements together to form the preliminary introduction.

According to the authors of your textbook, Ruszkiewicz and Dolmage (2022), an introductory paragraph has four purposes:

1. To draw your reader into the essay
2. To introduce the topic of the essay
3. To provide some background information
4. To present the main idea (thesis) of the essay

Address each of these four purposes by composing an introductory paragraph using the template linked in the What to Submit section.

Notes:

• Introducing the topic and providing some background information can be combined to form an overview of the topic.
• The terms essay and paper are synonymous regarding the textbook language and this assignment.
• The terms main idea and core idea are synonymous regarding the textbook language and this assignment.
• Reference: Ruszkiewicz, J. J., & Dolmage, J. T. (2022). How to write anything: A guide and reference with readings. 5th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Specifically, you must address the following:

1. Write sentences to draw the reader into the paper.
   1. This part of your introduction should be around one or two sentences long.
2. Write sentences to provide an overview of the topic.
   1. Introduce the topic of the paper. This part of your introduction should be around one or two sentences long.
   2. Provide background information to the reader (audience). This part of your introduction should be around one or two sentences long.
3. Include the thesis statement you created in the previous assignment in Module Four.
   1. This part of your introduction should be one sentence long.
   2. This is the section in which you will use your thesis statement from the previous assignment in Module Four.
4. Compile all sections to form an introductory paragraph.
   1. Compile sections 1–3 of this assignment to form a paragraph.
   2. To do this, you will have to copy and paste your previous responses and combine them into an introductory paragraph.

What to Submit

Submit your completed Module Four Preliminary Introduction Template for grading. Although you will refer to your selected text in your assignment, you will not refer to any sources from outside this course.

Supporting Materials

The following resource will support your work on this assignment:

Student Exemplar: Module Four Preliminary Introduction Exemplar This is an example of a completed preliminary introduction template for this assignment. You may want to use this as a guide when addressing the rubric criteria for this assignment.

Module Four Preliminary Introduction Rubric

Criteria	Proficient (100%)	Needs Improvement (75%)	Not Evident (0%)	Value
Draw the Reader	Writes sentences to draw the reader into the paper	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include doing one of the following: providing a surprising fact or idea, using an interesting example, opening with a story or description, providing a quotation, asking a question, or offering a strong opinion; or adhering to the length requirements	Does not attempt criterion	20
Provide an Overview of the Topic	Writes sentences to provide an overview of the topic	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include revealing the topic without revealing the main point about the subject, providing background information that may not be included in the body of the paper, or adhering to the length requirements	Does not attempt criterion	40
Thesis Statement	Includes the thesis statement created in the previous assignment (100%)	N/A	Does not attempt criterion (0%)	20
Form an Introductory Paragraph	Compiles all sections to form an introductory paragraph	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include fully combining all previous sections, or assembling previous sections in a logical order	Does not attempt criterion	10
Clear Communication	Consistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audience	Shows progress towards proficiency, but communication is inconsistent or ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understanding	Shows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized communication	10
Total:	100%