The Animal in You

Write a 5 paragraph essay comparing yourself with an animal.

Use this Inspiration template to organize your writing.

Click here to download the Inspiration.template.

Tips for writing an introduction:

There are several ways to write a good introduction or opening to your paper.

Thesis Statement Opening

This is the traditional style of opening a paper. This is a "mini-summary" of your paper.

For example :

People are often compared to animals because they have similar personalities. The wolf and I have similar personalities in that we are both social, expressive and athletic.

Opening with a Story (Anecdote)

A good way of catching your reader's attention is by sharing a story that sets up your paper. Sharing a story gives a paper a more personal feel and helps make your reader comfortable.

For example:

My mom said to me yesterday, "You are like a wolf. You are always running around with your friends playing sports." I thought to myself, "She is right, I am like a wolf who is athletic, social and expressive."

Specific Detail Opening

Giving specific details about your subject appeals to your reader's curiosity and helps establish a visual picture of what your paper is about.

For example:

The gray wolf glides gracefully through the deep, crusted snow. Her soft gray coat glistens in the moonlight. She sees a silhouette of a hunter and howls to communicate to her pack that a predator is near. I glide through the water with great ease and grace. My teammates and I push ourselves to swim faster and longer. Animals and people can have similar characteristics as I do with a wolf. We both are social, expressive and athletic.

Open with a Quotation
Another method of writing an introduction is to open with a quotation. This method makes your introduction more interactive and more appealing to your reader.

For example:

"We've all encountered people who remind us of animals. They act like bears, baboons, weasels, sloths, and vultures and often even physically resemble the animals they behave like, " says Roy Feinson in his best selling book, Animal in You. He explains how humans have a connection to animals and share similar characteristics. After taking his test, I found that I am like a wolf because we are both social, expressive and athletic.

Question Openings

Possibly the easiest opening is one that presents one or more questions to be answered in the paper. This is effective because questions are usually what the reader has in mind when he or she sees your topic.

Do you know anyone who behaves like a pig or likes to monkey around? Do animals and humans have the same personality characteristics? I think so because I am similar to a wolf. I am social, expressive and athletic just like a wolf.

The Animal in You

Write a 5 paragraph essay comparing yourself with an animal.

Tips for writing an introduction:

Thesis Statement Opening

Click here to go to the morphing activity.

Links:

Animal Web Sites

Software

Global Virtual Classroom Web Sites