Without a doubt, one of the hardest parts of an essay to write is the introduction. This is because that very first paragraph is going to set the entire tone for the rest of your essay. If you cannot hook your reader’s interest in the first couple of lines, then you risk to lose their interest before you even get to the main body of your paper. Your introduction also plays the important role of identifying your thesis statement for the reader. So, without further ado let’s take a look at how to write an essay introduction.
What Should My Introduction Include?
A good introduction should always contain these three elements: an introductory statement, your thesis and a mapping statement. This is the minimum that will be expected from your introduction, but you may also choose to include an additional hook to catch the readers attention. However, what you don’t want to do is go into too much detail at this stage, just give a brief overview of your essay.
The Introductory Statement
This is arguably the most important part of the introduction as it is the first thing that your reader will see. Your introductory statement should cover a couple of lines and is where you will place your ‘hook’. This can be a thought provoking statement, an interesting fact or even a relevant quote that you think applies to your thesis. The goal is to capture your reader’s interest and make them want to read more. Once you have written your hook you will want to briefly transition into your thesis.
Writing Your Thesis
The next step is to write your thesis statement. This is where you will state the question or argument that your essay is going to focus on. Your thesis must clearly state your essay topic and confirm which side of the argument you are taking. You should avoid writing your thesis as a question, instead make a statement which you are going to prove. For example, instead of ‘Should the legal drinking age be lowered?’ you might choose to say ‘The legal drinking age should be lowered in line with the age of consent’. This clearly shows not only the main topic, but also your stance regarding it.
Mapping Statements
One of the biggest mistakes that students make is that they forget all about mapping statements when writing their introductions. It is just as important as your thesis, so you do need to include it. The mapping statements are almost like a brief summary of the main body of your essay. It should outline each argument that you will be using to support your thesis in the order you are going to list them. Write just a sentence or two about each point – it is enough as you will expand on this in the body of your paper. If you have created an essay plan (and you should have), then you will have a good idea of what to include here.
Tips For Writing Introductory Paragraphs
This all might seem like a massive amount of information for just one paragraph of your essay, but the introduction is so important that you really need to get it right. If you are having trouble processing all of the information above, then here are some quick tips that will help you to create a killer introduction for your essay:
- You don’t need to write your introduction first! Since it is the opening paragraph, many students feel obliged to tackle the introduction right away and this can lead to delays in getting into the actual essay itself. A great tip is to craft the main body first and then go back and write the introduction. That way you already know what the essay is covering and you will find it easier to summarize it!
- The first sentence is the key. If you really want your reader to engage with your essay, then try to hook them with that opening sentence. Try grabbing their attention with a key fact, a relevant quotation or something else that will pique their interest.
- Always create an essay plan which details the points you want to raise as this will help you to write your mapping statements which are a very important for any essay introduction.
Hopefully these tips will help you to understand how to write an essay introduction and you will be able to craft some excellent introductory paragraphs. This is that tricky area of essay writing where many students lose marks, so mastering the introduction is sure to give your grades a boost!