Write an Essay Introduction

This article will teach you how write an essay introduction, from building a concise introduction to avoiding common pitfalls.

10 Second Summary

1. Start with an anecdote, surprising fact, or quotes. More ↓
2. Give some context or background for your argument. ↓
3. Briefly summarize the structure of your paper. ↓
4. Write a unique, arguable, specific thesis statement. ↓
5. Wrap up with a transition into your first paragraph.↓

Steps

Sample Essay Hooks

Doc:Essay Hooks

Building a Concise Introduction

  1. Start with an example. Before diving into the specifics of what's important in an essay introduction, it can be helpful to see an example:
    • Literary Essay: "Anyone reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula today has seen the conventions of vampire fiction a million times before: the garlic, the mirrors, the bats, a villain who is powerful, cunning, and erotic. There is an ever-growing mythology of vampires that the novel sits near the roots of, and the ubiquity of vampires threatens to make the conventions seem overused and unoriginal – part of the mythological canon. Yet Dracula still terrifies to this day. We can suspend our disbelief because we are in on the action; we’re holding the actual copy of events that Mina typed, being taught with the skeptical Doctor Seward about the very superstitions we too are being asked, while we read, to believe. He conflates the reader and the characters and grounds us in a strange world where science and superstition stand hand in hand. In doing so, Stoker crafts a shockingly modern novel, so that Dracula that feels frightening and new even today because we are never quite sure if it is true. After all, we're reading the same "book" as the main character."
  2. Hook the reader with a great first sentence. You can use anecdotes, surprising facts, fun turns of phrase, or quotes. This is designed to bring the reader into your essay, not tell the whole story. It can be broadly related to your paper, not laser focused. Check below for even more examples of a great hook.[1]
    • Literary Essay: "Anyone reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula today has seen the conventions of vampire fiction a million times before: the garlic, the mirrors, the bats, a villain who is powerful, cunning, and erotic."
    • Research Essay: "According to Max Weber, one of the most influential developments in the Modern West has been the “demythologization” (entzauberung) of the world-- surely there has been a noticeable change in the world from the days of the Greek gods or medieval witchcraft."
    • Personal Essay: "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back changed my life, but, like all pivot points in a child’s life, I was too young to realize it at the time."
  3. Give your argument some context. Ground the reader with some information that might not be in the paper, but is relevant to understand your thesis. It could be historical background, related papers/research, or a few scattered facts to set the "mood."
    • Literary Essay: "There is an ever-growing mythology of vampires that the novel sits near the roots of, and the ubiquity of vampires threatens to make the conventions seem overused and unoriginal – part of the mythological canon. Yet Dracula still terrifies to this day, appearing in movies, TV, and books."
    • Research Essay: "But has the West moved towards rationalism, has it really cast off the old myth and magic, or has it only done so on the surface? The West is not, as Weber suggests, on a linear climb towards rationality, though it seems that there has been a desire for it."
    • Personal Essay: "I clamored for the VHS tapes when they were released while amassing all of the action figures, comics, and games I could get my hands on. One day, in the midst of my youthful obsession, I walked downstairs and proclaimed to my parents that all I wanted when I grew up was “to be George Lucas.” In short, I wanted to be a professional storyteller."
  4. Preview the structure of your paper. This is why some people write introductions last, but it is not necessary if you've planned ahead with an outline. You want a short, concise roadmap of your argument. You don't have to preview each paragraph, but you should give a general idea of where your argument will go.[2]
    • Literary Essay: "We can suspend our disbelief because we are in on the action; we’re holding the actual copy of events that Mina typed, being taught with the skeptical Doctor Seward about the very superstitions we too are being asked, while we read, to believe. He conflates the reader and the characters and grounds us in a strange world where science and superstition stand hand in hand."
    • Research Essay: "In the years since 1830, intellectual history has had its moments of rationality, moments that fulfill Weber’s words, yet the overall trend has been more of an arc; a slow, often faltering embrace of entzauberung that peaks with Nietzsche and dissolves into a rejection of the concept at the hands of the postmodernists."
    • Personal Essay: "Complex, fictional metaphors have defined humanity for years, but what drives people to create them, or spend money going to school to learn them? What does storytelling really help accomplish in a world so full of real problems and horrors? And why would someone want to do it for a living?"
  5. Craft a unique, arguable thesis. The thesis is the heart of your entire essay. It is the argument or point you're making. Remember, then, that the best thesis are specific, provable, and striking. They give the reader a reason to keep on reading.[3]
    • Literary Essay: "In doing so, Stoker crafts a novel that feels frightening and new even today, because we are never quite sure if it is true."
    • Research Essay: "In the past one hundred and eighty years there has been a conscience effort to demystify the world in favor of rationalism, but a closer look at these arguments shows that this push towards rationality has undercut itself at almost every turn."
    • Personal Essay: "Ultimately, however, the question, "why write fiction," is more important than any answer. Storytelling is about asking questions, about probing into human issues that may have no answer at all, and using the boundless human imagination to shed light on the best, and worst, experiences in our life."
  6. Transition into your first paragraph to wrap everything up. Sometimes your thesis is the last sentence, and the transition is natural. But your thesis might not be last. One short, easy sentence can be a great way to launch into your argument and keep the reader engaged.
    • Literary Essay: "After all, we're reading the same "book" as the main character."
    • Research Essay: Generally unnecessary, as presenting the research (historical or scientific) is often more important.
    • Personal Essay: "But how do stories actually shed that light?"

Prewriting For Your Introduction

  1. Think about your “angle” on your topic. If you’re writing an introduction, you probably already know what your topic is and what you want to say about it. (If you don’t, you need to go back and do that before you try to write an introduction!) A good essay has an “angle,” or way of presenting argument or information, to its readers. Think about what questions your essay addresses and why they’re important.[1]
    • You should have your thesis before you start writing your introduction. It can even help to save the introduction for last, after you’ve written the rest of your essay, so you know exactly what your argument is.
    • Remember that a thesis statement Is an assertion, not a fact or an observation. It takes a stand; someone should be able to argue either in favor or against the argument in your thesis. For example: “Because of its humiliating and demoralizing effect on African American slaves, black face was used less as a comedy routine and more as a way of enforcing racial segregation” and “Science is beginning to seriously question whether a comet, not an asteroid, was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs” are both thesis statements. The first is for an analytical essay, and the second is more for an informative essay.
  2. Consider your readers. Your audience probably includes your teacher or professor, but consider your audience more generally, too. What information would they need to make your argument or discussion helpful? Is there background information you need to provide? Are there terms you need to define? Knowing the answers to questions like these will help you know what information needs to go into your introduction.
    • Remember that your readers probably already know some things, and they want to get to the “meat” of your essay as soon as possible. Avoid opening your essay introduction with huge generalizations or broad statements such as “Human beings love to learn” or “Throughout the history of time, people have written poetry.” These statements almost never add anything to your argument, and thus they aren’t helpful for your readers.
  3. Think of a “hook.” Your first sentence should pull the readers in, making them want to read the essay because they are fascinated, intrigued, or even outraged. Opening with a catchy saying or provocative statistic can be helpful, but make sure that you don’t wander too far from your essay’s overall purpose. Consider a couple of different types of hooks, and choose the one that feels the most effective to you.[1]
    • You can use an interesting fact or statistic to surprise your reader. While the fact should be relevant to what you're saying, this is not the place to state the facts that you are using for evidence down in the body of your essay. Instead, use it as a way to grab your readers’ attention and let them know what’s coming. For example: “Although we tend to think of social media as a young person’s game, the fastest-growing demographic on Twitter are people aged 55-64.”[4] This statistic confronts an expectation your readers may have and could set up an argument on the importance of, say, access to the internet for senior citizens.
    • You can also use an anecdote as a hook. If you are writing a less formal paper, consider beginning with a relevant, humorous, or moving story. This will provide context and allow the reader to get to know you, or the person or thing you're writing about, a little bit better. For example: “Sergei Filin was walking home on a cold Moscow morning when a man in black approached him. With his hand held behind his back, the man in black muttered something menacing. Before he knew what hit him, Filin was on the ground, tossing snow in his face, his skin literally burning off. Filin had been attacked with acid.”
    • You can sometimes pose a question as a hook. This is particularly effective if you are writing a persuasive essay. Draw the reader in with a question that is both relevant and provoking. For example: “What would you do if you could play God for a day? That's exactly what the leaders of the tiny island nation of Guam tried to answer.”
    • A quotation can be used as a hook, but be careful: this is a clichéd way of opening your essay, and some readers may interpret it as lazy rather than inventive. It’s usually best to start off with your own words, rather than someone else’s.
    • Avoid the “The dictionary defines ____ as” type of openings. They add nothing to your essay and usually aren’t even helpful (everyone knows how the dictionary defines love/war/peace/ice cream).
  4. Make an outline. It can be helpful to outline your introduction, especially if you have a lot of information you need to present in it. An outline will let you know how your introduction “builds up steam” before presenting the thesis statement.[2]
    • After the hook, you’ll probably need to give some background information for your topic. Give anything that will help your readers have context for what you’re going to argue. For example, an essay on whether the government should subsidize farming probably needs to present some information about what types of crops are grown in the area you’re describing, as well as the challenges that farmers face.
    • You can also give any information about the topic that your readers will need to understand your argument. For example, if you’re writing an analysis of a Shakespeare play, it could be helpful to give a brief synopsis of what it’s about and who the major characters are.
    • End with the thesis statement. Here’s where you state your argument or, in an informative essay, the topic for discussion. If you are not sure how to write a thesis statement, check out our handy article, Write a Thesis Statement.

Structuring the Introduction

  1. Open with the hook. Once you have decided what type of hook works best for your essay, open with it. Some types of hooks can't just be left there, or they'll wilt and die. Some hooks need explanation. Quotations and questions, especially, require explanation much of the time. How you explain the quote can affect how powerful your thesis is, and how much it makes sense.
    • For example:
      • Hook: “How often do you walk past a building and wonder what it looked like 100 years ago?”
      • Explanation: “Technology has allowed us to send a man to the moon, develop vaccines for ailments like polio, and — now — plumb the depths of history for visual clues to our architectural past.”
  2. Follow up with background information. Once you’ve figured out what context your readers need during writing, it should be a cinch to add in this information to your introduction.
    • For example, consider this example thesis from earlier: “Because of its humiliating and demoralizing effect on African American slaves, blackface was used less as a comedy routine and more as a way of enforcing racial segregation.”
    • This thesis needs to be set up by the introduction with background information. The introduction need to give an idea of what blackface performing was, where and when it occurred, and possibly what some scholars think about it.
  3. Present your thesis. Customarily, the thesis statement goes at the very end of the first paragraph. Unless you’re directed otherwise, it’s a good idea to stick with this tried-and-true structure.[5]
    • However, in a long or complex essay, you may want to give a road map, or brief outline of your argument. This isn’t to say you need to give all the details of your essay in the introduction. Just give an idea of the major points that your essay will cover.[2]
    • For example, an essay about the unification of Italy could sketch out the main points of the argument, such as the multiple obstacles facing unification.
    • This section helps your reader know where your argument is going.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

  1. Change your introduction later, if you need to. A common error students make is to write the introduction first, then the essay, and not go back to re-read the introduction. Sometimes, your essay’s argument evolves as you write. Don’t be afraid to go back and make changes where necessary![1]
    • If you’re stumped, don’t let the introduction give you writer’s block. Write a placeholder using your outline, then get to the rest of your essay. It may even be easier to write your introduction once you’ve started the body of your argument.
  2. Avoid the fluff. Fluff and filler have no place in an essay introduction. If you’re not sure what to say about your topic, though, it can be easy to write an introduction that doesn’t actually contribute much to your discussion. Avoid anything that’s a “huge idea,” vague, or don’t say much.[1]
    • For example: “Humans love to fall in love. There are many stories and poems about love. One story about love is William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.” This introduction doesn’t give your reader any real information, and it doesn’t set up a thesis.
  3. Skip the sweeping generalizations. It’s tempting to begin by saying something like “Men and women handle conflict differently” or “Everyone wants someone to love.” These things aren’t necessarily true, and they’re too general to be much help in establishing your argument.[1]
  4. Keep it short and simple. Your introduction should give the necessary background to understand your topic, but it shouldn’t get too far into specifics. You probably won’t need to use quotations in an introduction. If you notice that your introduction is getting long and detailed, you may need to move some of that stuff into your body paragraphs.[6]
    • A good rule of thumb is to write an introduction no longer than 10% of your final total (e.g., 1 page for a 10-page paper, 150 words for a 1500-word essay).
  5. Avoid announcing your purpose directly. This isn’t to say that your thesis or introduction should be vague. However, you should try to avoid statements in your introduction such as “The purpose of this essay is to prove _____” or “In this essay I will argue that ____.” Your thesis will make the purpose of your essay clear, if it’s written well.[7]
    • There are exceptions to this. Some types of writing, such as scholarly articles, may ask you to directly state what you will argue in your introduction. If you aren’t sure whether this is appropriate, ask whoever will be reading it (teacher, professor, journal editor, etc.).

Tips

  • Always start the topic on what you are about to explain and talk about. Make it more understandable. Make it very exciting or more helpful. Let the reader know what she is reading and trying to find out.
  • Always double-check your writing and stay on topic.
  • If you are answering an assigned question, be sure that you interpret it correctly. The quality of your essay will be irrelevant if it does not answer the question.
  • Never begin an essay without knowing your thesis.
    • It may be helpful to write your body paragraphs before you write the rest of the introduction.

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/introductions/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/essay/4bii.html
  3. ↑ http://www.scribendi.com/advice/how_to_write_an_introduction.en.html
  4. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/belle-beth-cooper/10-surprising-social-medi_b_4325088.html
  5. ↑ http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/planning-and-organizing/intros-and-conclusions
  6. ↑ http://library.bcu.ac.uk/learner/writingguides/1.22.htm
  7. ↑ http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm
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