UH-Victoria

Draft Your Introduction

Supply a Short Narrative or Anecdote

You may want to tell a short descriptive story. Narratives and anecdotes are used often to appeal to the reader’s emotion. This technique relies upon your ability to use vivid description to gain the sympathies of your reader. Remember, though, a short narrative or anecdote may make your reader more receptive to your idea, but you will need to use logic to support your points.

I remember the summer before I started school in 1969. Even at eight years old I could feel tension in the air that seemed to grow unbearable as the first day of school grew near. I remember sitting in the back of the bus on the way to school and in the back of the classroom once I got to school. I remember my parents’ worry for my safety and the white policemen who patrolled the halls of the school. As an African-American child growing up in the 1960s, I experienced what the policy makers called desegregation. This article traces the desegregation of public schools in southern Mississippi, using public policy and key events in the 1960s and 70s to draw conclusions about social change.