Historical Review - Create a setting Example: In 1929, America had neared the end of the Roaring Twenties and the Wall Street Crash had ushered in the Great Depression, but literary genius was still mobilized in the form of Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms.
Caveat: do not write "dawn of time" intros (e.g., "Since the dawn of time, wars have always existed, and they continue to exist today."). Be specific on dates.
Anecdotal - Tell a story
Example: Three-thousand soldiers came home from Iraq today. Simon Johnson was one of them. Completing his second tour of duty, he was excited to see his now nine-month-old daughter for the first time.
Famous person - be a name dropper.
Example: Do you know the most read author today? It's not Stephen King, Stephanie Meyers, or Stephen Colbert. It is Douglas Shulman, the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, whose name appears on most all of the tax forms filed by millions each year.
Surprising Statement - shock your reader
Example: Today, a Google search for the terms "porn" and "tube" will return 1420 million results.
Declarative - Just the facts, ma'm: who, what, when, and where.
Example: Duke Energy told a state Public Service Commission hearing Tuesday that it may not have a decision until summer 2013 because the company continues to evaluate risks of repairing the broken Crystal River nuclear plant and continues to negotiate with the insurance company about its claim. - Ivan Penn
