Now that your planning stage is complete, you can begin writing your draft. Your writing should be organized, developed, accurate, and original.
Exercise: Analyze introduction paragraphs.
As you draft your introduction, review the information in the chapter "The Writing Process" about writing introduction paragraphs. You should start generally but not too generally. If you start too generally, you may fail to clearly describe the problem. Read the introduction and the revised introduction below and compare them. Why is the revised introduction more effective?
Introduction
There are many new experiences for international students in the United States, and some of them cause a lot of anxiety. Arranging finances, housing, and legal papers in another language are some examples. However, those experiences are not typically ongoing; once the arrangements are made, they are usually stable for at least a semester. Other stressful experiences are repeated on a daily basis, like having a conversation with a native speaker of English. Many international students avoid these conversations, but that is a serious problem for them. Knowledge and preparation can help international students participate actively in conversations rather than avoiding them.
Revised introduction
Conversations happen everywhere: work, school, church, stores, dates, and even the gym. Conversations are such a common part of daily life that people often don’t think about how difficult they can be, or the anxiety they can cause, if all of these conversations are happening in another language. Many international students avoid participating in conversations, especially with native speakers of English. This avoidance is a serious problem for international students who study English because participating in conversations is crucial for developing their language skills. Avoiding conversations can also cause international students to struggle making friends and make them feel more isolated. While it is natural to feel nervous about participating in conversations, international students need to find ways to be more confident in their ability to participate in a conversation. International students can choose from various solutions to stop avoiding conversations and feel more confident.