Opening Sentences

Worksheet Description

This worksheet serves as a guide for crafting a compelling essay introduction using an aporia. It emphasizes the importance of an essay’s opening lines to capture and retain the reader’s attention. The concept of aporia is revisited here, illustrating its function as a rhetorical question that harbors sincere doubt. Aporia, as the worksheet details, can either be direct, where a writer or speaker asks a question anticipating no immediate answer, or it can be open-ended, inviting the audience to consider the question further. The use of aporia in the introduction is strategized to engage readers by presenting them with thought-provoking questions, thus ensuring a more reflective and invested reading experience. The examples given, such as questioning the morality of hunger in a world of plenty, are designed to spur the readers to ponder deeply about the subject matter from the outset.

The practical aspect of the worksheet encourages students to apply this technique in their essay writing. It instructs them to begin their essay with an aporia, using it as a hook to draw readers into the dialogue. This exercise challenges students to not only understand the mechanism of aporia but also to create an immersive introduction for an essay that intrigues the audience from the beginning. Such practice is vital in honing students’ skills in writing engaging and persuasive texts, and it underscores the significance of rhetorical questions in enhancing the depth and appeal of academic writing.