| ASSIGNMENTS
Readings
Writing Projects
NOTES
SYLLABUS
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It is impossible to underestimate the importance of the first few paragraphs in an
essay. They must be cinematically compelling and substantively communicative,
getting readers involved in the action of the scenic narrative while informing them about
what they will be learning. (Gutkind 42)
   
As a general rule, avoid leads that . . .
SAY NOTHING: "One of the more interesting spots in Georgia . . .."
WAVE CLICHES: "Historic downtown Savannah gives truth to the old adage that
you don't know what you've got till it's gone. . . . "
QUOTE WEBSTER'S: "According to my dictionary, a lead is 'a
suggestion or piece of information that helps to direct or guide--a tip, a clue.' . .
."
SOUND CUTE: "My mama . . . ."
SOUND BELLIGERENT: "Your mama . . .."
FOCUS ON WRITING: "When I received this assignment, my first impulse
was to write about my bedroom closet. . . . "
POSE QUESTIONS: "How many of you can tell me the name of the
smallest city in Georgia?"
MIX METAPHORS: "Sometime you've got to stick your neck out on
a limb, and keep your nose to the grindstone. . . . "
BORE: "The Australian Football League was known as the
Victoria Football League until 1987, when teams from western Australia and Queensland
joined the league. . . ."
STRAIN TO AMAZE: "The ghost of General Oglethorpe grabbed me
by the goolies and hurled me down the stairs. . . ."
WAX POETIC: "Framed against the azure sky was a wedge of
cackling geese, a shimmering cocaine-colored V halloed in sunlight and dusted with . . .
."
IMAGINE WE CARE: "My boyfriend is the most caring . . .."
     
An effective lead lures the reader . . .
" . . . with freshness, or novelty, or paradox, or humor, or surprise, or with an
unusual idea, or an interesting fact . . .. Anything will do as long as it nudges
[the reader's] curiosity and tugs at his sleeve. . . . Next, the lead must do
some real work. It must provide hard details that tell the reader why the piece was
written and why he ought to read it. But don't dwell on the reason. Coax the
reader a little more; keep him inquisitive." (Zinsser 56)
"Another approach is to tell a story. It's such a simple solution, so obvious
and unsophisticated, that we often forget that it's available to us. But narrative
is the oldest and most compelling method of holding someone's attention; everybody wants
to be told a story. Always look for ways to convey your information in narrative
form." (Zinsser 62)
Check out the article "How
to Open Without a Bang": though Alex Keegan focuses on lead paragraphs in
fiction, writers of nonfiction should also benefit from his advice.
Go to the library and skim through some recent issues of Harper's, The
Atlantic, The Oxford American, Granta, The Georgia Review, The
New Yorker, and other national magazines that publish quality nonfiction.
Examine some of the various lead strategies employed by authors whose work appears in
these journals.
References
Lee Gutkind, The Art of Creative Nonfiction: Writing and Selling the Literature of
Reality. New York: John Wiley, 1997.
William Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, 6th
ed. New York: Harper, 1998.
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