Every time my students begin writing their essays, they always get stuck on their introduction paragraphs. They stare at their blinking cursors or unmoving pens and constantly tell me, "I don't know how to start!" It's easy to go over hook sentences, connecting sentences and writing a thesis. It's easy to give practice versions of these three introduction elements (and students seem to get it). But once they are confronted with their own paper, their minds go blank.
This graphic organizer h