Introduction for an Essay
Pull in the Reader
When writing an introduction for your essay, it is important to keep the reader’s interest. It is also important to give them some background on the topic so they can understand what will be discussed further in the essay. The purpose of an introduction is to 'hook' your reader in so that they will want to read more of your essay (and hopefully enjoy it). If you're writing an essay for school or college, this is particularly important because your teacher might mark you down if they think you haven't made your point clear enough at the start. In order to write a strong introduction, here are some tips to follow:
Provide background information
Be sure to provide the necessary background information so that a reader can understand the research, but avoid irrelevant information. Avoid personal anecdotes and other stories because they are not relevant and can distract readers from your intended purpose of introducing them to your topic.
Define your thesis
Your thesis statement is the main point of your essay. It is what you want to prove and should be clearly stated at the end of your introduction. The thesis needs to be clear, concise, and located at the end of your introduction:
● Clear: If you’re writing about how humans are destroying their environment, then you don’t want to write about how humans are living in harmony with nature. Instead, look for something more specific like “Humans are destroying their environment through overpopulation and pollution” or “Humans need to take care of Mother Earth by reducing our population growth rate while increasing environmental awareness among citizens.”
● Concise: Your thesis doesn't have room for flowery language or long sentences—it needs to get straight to the point! For example… "Human beings can no longer sustain themselves on this planet; they must change their habits immediately or face extinction as a species." This sentence packs a lot of information into just two short clauses that hit all three criteria for being concise (short sentences): It's direct, simple, and makes its point without unnecessary details or extra words.
Use a catchy opening line
An introduction is a good place to make an impression. Your reader is going to be scanning the essay for the main points, so don't give them an excuse to skip over your essay by using a boring opening line or paragraph. If you can't think of anything original or interesting to say about your topic, try brainstorming for ways that you can use this introduction as an opportunity to showcase your writing skills. This could mean using some creative language, or it could mean restating something cleverly.
Make a brief summary of the research process
In the introduction, it is useful to provide a brief overview of the research process. Give an overview of your main findings and briefly state how they tie into the larger topic. You should also include some questions that you are currently interested in answering or want to explore further. If you have found some answers but still have questions, mention those too! This will help readers understand what direction your essay is going in and what parts they may find most interesting.
Make sure to use proper formatting
The two most popular formats are APA, which stands for the American Psychological Association, and MLA, which stands for Modern Language Association. Both have their own rules regarding citation, spacing, and font size.
Once you've verified your formatting, the next step is to get into a good writing groove. Write whatever comes to mind without being too concerned with grammar or spelling errors--you'll be able to fix those later on when you edit your essay. Just get started!
Remember about the structure of your essay
A good introduction should clearly lay out the problem that you are trying to solve and the solution that you intend to provide. If a reader is confused about either of these things, they will have difficulty understanding what comes later in your essay or presentation. If this happens, then not only will you not earn a good grade on this assignment, but it could also hurt how well other assignments in this class go for you as well!
Do not make it too long
The main reason why you should avoid making your introduction too long is that it's just not a good idea to waste words on repetition. Another reason why it's important not to make your introduction too long is that readers can get bored if they don't get enough information about what's going on in the rest of the text that follows after it. They may have expected something different from what they end up reading (especially if there are no citations), so try not being too wordy when introducing yourself or whatever topic(s) will be covered later on within pages four through six (or whatever page numbers apply).
