Strategies of Attention-Getting

Think about TV ads. Analyze. Ask questions.		*Consider these ideas for your own compositions.*

WHAT IS THE MAIN STRATEGY?		WHAT IS YOUR MAIN STRATEGY?
What's the hook? The lure? In ads, here are 10 common attention-getters: 1. News. Many ads are simply announcements providing information about new products, availability, and price. 2. Lists & Displays. People like to read lists, especially in rank-order, such as "5 Best Buys." Displays and catalogs are very popular, showing the many items, choices, and varieties. 3. Claims and Promises. A claim asserts that the product is something, has some quality, or does something; a promise means that it will benefit the buyer. 4. Advice. People seek advice. Even those who rebel against "orders," often welcome "hints" and "suggestions." Two simple words *("how to")* are very effective attention-getters. 5. Lead-ins. Some language patterns prompt completion or closure: a teaser, a fragment, an interruption, a quick peek, a come-on,"coming attractions." Other lead-ins are congratulatory phrases ("Congratulations, you've just won...") or even the simple word "Wanted" used in a bold headline. More subtle lead-ins include periodic sentences (in which the full meaning is withheld until the end); premise indicators ("since, because") which lead to conclusion indicators (thus, therefore"), and hypotheticals ("if .. then"). 6. Questions. The most common and obvious lead-in is the rhetorical question, which does not expect an audible outward response, but does seek to prompt a silent inner response. 7. Stories. TV ads are often brief, dramatized problem/solution stories. The characters act as role models providing examples of behavior, either in realistic settings ("plain folks" - housekeeping, local bars) or nonrealistic settings ("beautiful people" - elegant parties,yachts) which are romanticized wish-fulfillment fantasies. 8. Demonstrations. Four major kinds explain or illustrate how things work: a step-by-step sequence to show how to use a new product: a before-and-after set to show effects or results; a side-by-side comparison to show one is better; a behind-the-scenes revelation to show how or why the product was made. 9. Breaking Rules. Deviation from any rule, norm, custom, or standard gets attention; for example, some ads use deliberate misspellings and "bad grammar." 10. Humor. Lighthearted, mellow humor (not biting satire) is often used both to get attention and to stir up good feelings. In a crowded and cluttered ad environment, humorous ads may be the most common, best-loved, and most tolerated by audiences, but they are often not very effective in actually selling the product.		Strategically, you need to be aware of the value of attention-getting and the function of your introduction. Tactically, you probably should not start by trying to write the specific opening sentence. First, concentrate on your thesis (what you want to say) and the overall structure. Eventually you're going to have to write an introduction (including the important opening sentence and opening paragraph), but it's much easier if you know what the whole is going to be. It's also easier to write an introduction if you know some of the common options available, or ways that other writers have used in the past. In classical rhetoric, the exordium (the introduction, the opening, the beginning) had two main functions: to lead the audience into the discussion, and to ingratiate the writer with the audience. Composition texts today, as their basic source for a variety of openings, often use Whately's categories (1828): the Introduction Inquisitive, Paradoxical, Corrective, Preparatory, and Narrative. These traditional guidelines are useful, and often repeated in texts and frequently used by writers: use a question (as a lead-in to the answer); use a paradox (a seeming contradiction which needs to be explained) or a cryptic statement (odd or unusual, provoking curiosity); correct a misunderstanding or a false impression; present a scene (a visual concrete description); tell a story (an anecdote related to the topic); use a figure of speech (metaphor, simile, or analogy) as an explanatory comparison, or as a fresh new way of seeing the old; use a quote from someone else as a key idea to be defended, explained, or refuted. You'll be a better writer yourself, the more you recognize common "openers" in speeches and sermons, in jokes and anecdotes, and "small talk" social rituals about the weather ("Nice day") or sports ("Didja see ... ). Such commonplace pleasantries are very appropriate in informal speech. But, in your written work, avoid clichés and dull, bland formula openings ("The purpose of this paper") or trite truisms ("In today's modern world...").

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