Attention!

Looming suddenly above the tranquil waves of the bay, an awesomely long, silvery serpentine neck; a head as big as a Volkswagen bug; jaws gaping open to reveal row upon row of sharp and jagged teeth; and five, wheel-size eyes glaring green with golden sparks shooting toward her – that certainly got her attention!

The unexpected, the strange, the novel or new, the odd: all of these rivet the mind and make us want to know what comes next. Our minds focus because we have become interested.

Often an instructor will require that you begin your essay with an attention getter, something to draw the reader into your essay. It is not the easiest task of a writer, either. One way to go about finding a way to gain the reader’s whole attention is to consider what part of your research or subject matter interested you more than the rest. I will make the assumption that there was something of interest in the subject matter; otherwise, you’d have fallen asleep before even thinking of writing an introduction to your essay.

Even if there is no way a mythical sea monster can figure into your opening lines, consider other methods for finding an attention getter: a comedic observation, a startling fact, a strong image, a decisive quote, a philosophical statement, or anything out of the ordinary to make the reader sit up straighter and become involved in what you have to say.

It is a somewhat questionable practice to begin an essay with a rhetorical question as an attention getter since an answer to the question will probably have to be included eventually. Save the device of rhetorical questions for body paragraphs in order to give the reader more reason to contemplate what you are saying. The rhetorical question, requiring no answer, is then asked within the context of your essay.

Now I am going to be totally, completely, entirely bogus (not to mention redundant) and tell you that it was just a dream, the looming sea creature above the tranquil waves of the bay. You might decide to make sure your own attention getter has a more valid connection to your essay than mine does.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!