TOEFL iBT2, Writing | INTRODUCTION
In the previous exercise, you already practiced brainstorming and planning an essay about the topic you have chosen in class [URL=http://my.opera.com/writenow/blog/toefl-ibt2-writing-brainstorming](a list of topics and the choosers can be found here)[/URL]; also, you learned writing the thesis statement and the topic sentence for each paragraph. In this exercise, you are to write the introduction of an essay.
The introduction provides an overview of the essay that you are going to write. In order to do this, you will need one or two sentences conveying an idea broader and more general than the topic you are writing, then one sentence introducing a restatement (using your own words to express the idea) of the topic, and finally one sentence containing the thesis statement. In a more sophisticated essay, you may to include an overview outline of the essay, but it is optional in the writing section of TOEFL iBT.
In short, a typical format of an introduction looks like this:
This is a [B]general idea[/B]. This is an optional sentence if you want to expand your general idea. Here comes the [B]restatement[/B] of the topic; remember that you should not merely copy the topic: a restatement means a restatement. Now you write your own [B]thesis statement[/B] here; also, do not simple say 'I agree with this': explicitly express the idea you that you support.
A typical example of the introduction can be found on page 178 in student's book, an essay about choosing friends: similar of different. Now you can start drafting your introductions and post them right here.
