How to write an essay introduction, how to write an essay introduction paragraph.

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

It’s especially important to make sure your thesis statement accurately represents what you do in the essay. If your argument has gone in a different direction than planned, tweak your thesis statement to match what you actually say.

This introduction example is taken from our interactive essay example on the history of Braille.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay.

More examples of essay introductions

This introduction to a literary analysis essay, about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, starts by describing a simplistic popular view of the story, and then states how the author will give a more complex analysis of the text’s literary devices.

Particularly in longer essays, it’s helpful to end the introduction by signposting what will be covered in each part. Keep it concise and give your reader a clear sense of the direction your argument will take.

Without a clear thesis, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay. Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The U.S. government should take on more of the financial burden of college education because other countries have shown this can improve education rates while reducing levels of familial poverty.

That’s how the hook is supposed to work in an intro paragrap h: it should get your reader interested enough that they don’t want to press the proverbial “pause” button while they’re reading it. In other words, a hook is designed to grab your reader’s attention and keep them reading your essay!

Some instructors also ask students to include an essay map as part of their thesis. An essay map is a section that outlines the major topics a paper will address. So for instance, say you’re writing a paper that argues for the importance of public transport in rural communities. Your thesis and essay map might look like this:

Effectively introducing your essay’s topic, purpose, and getting your reader invested in your essay sounds like a lot to ask from one little paragraph, huh? In the next section, we’ll demystify the intro paragraph format by breaking it down into its core parts. When you learn how to approach each part of an intro, writing one won’t seem so scary!

4 Tips for How To Write an Introduction Paragraph

To provide effective context, the writer refers to issues (the exorbitant cost of college and high levels of family debt) that have received a lot of recent scholarly and media attention. These sentences of context also elaborate on the interesting perspective included in the hook: that American families are most affected by college costs.

In this article, we’re going to explain how to write a captivating intro paragraph by covering the following info:

If trying to write an intro paragraph makes you feel like a Muggle trying to do magic, trust us: you aren’t alone. But there are some tips and tricks that can make the process easier--and that’s where we come in.

For instance, if you’re writing an essay analyzing the consequences of sexism in Hollywood, the context you include after your hook might make reference to the #metoo and #timesup movements that have generated public support for victims of sexual harassment.

I find it important to give students feedback on their introduction paragraphs before moving on to the body of the essay. Feedback is an opportunity to boost students’ confidence. They will enter the next stage of their paper knowing their foundation is solid. But, feedback doesn’t have to always come from the teacher.

Even though I don’t ask students to list their main points in the introduction paragraph, I consider it part of writing an intro. They need to understand whether or not their thesis statement can be developed with sound research. I give my students a graphic organizer that allows them to view the main points as pillars that support the thesis statement. If they can identify at least three solid pillars and provide evidence from research, they are approved to move on. (I do require students to begin collecting sources during the pre-writing stage, and I encourage them to tweak their original Works Cited page as they draft and revise.)

Even if students manage to come up with a hook they like and a sound thesis statement, they generally struggle with what to write in the middle. I explain that the middle of the introduction is a bridge in two different ways.

Honestly, getting students started with their essay is the hardest part. Because I have a compulsion to reflect on and analyze my lessons and units, I am always trying to come up with no-fear, sensible ways to help students approach writing. In this post, I’m sharing the methods I use to make writing an introduction paragraph for an argumentative essay more transparent and concrete.

B: BRIDGE / BACKGROUND

Even students who don’t need much scaffolding must understand that those elements are necessary in order to grab the audience’s attention, fill in gaps of knowledge, and establish a sound position.

Perhaps you stumbled on this post after reading my prior post about choosing a research topic. Or, maybe you googled “how to write an introduction paragraph” because you are struggling to come up with a way to make introduction paragraphs less daunting for students.

I always begin teaching students how to write an introduction paragraph by asking students to define their view. We begin by discussing how we would write thesis statements for debates that students would understand without much research. I explain to students that in an argumentative essay, the thesis statement is also called a claim because they are arguing a specific point. I want them to associate the term thesis statement with every essay we write, but it’s important that they know the word claim as well.

One, it bridges the hook to the thesis. Those two typically don’t flow naturally together. Two, it provides a bridge between the issue and the audience’s understanding of it. I allow my students to choose topics they are passionate about, but I explain that other people who will read their essay might not know anything about the topic. I ask them, “What information does your audience need to know in order to fully understand this debate?”

Now, let’s answer the question “how to make an interesting hook?” There are several different strategies you can use to create a powerful hook:

1. A Common Misconception — a good trick is to begin with is to claim that something that your readers believe in is not true

A powerful introductory paragraph should meet all of these requirements:

• Make each sentence in your introduction a bit more narrow and specific than each previous one. This simple trick will help you draw your reader(s) into the main part of your paper gradually.
• Let’s say you are writing a paper about the importance of a good work-life balance. In this case, you can use a question like “Have you ever thought of how a good work-life balance can influence different spheres of your life?” or another hook, then you can continue on by providing general facts and statistics, and finally, you can narrow down your topic to match your thesis statement.

The 5 Types of Hooks for Writing

• Cliches
• Dictionary definitions
• Generalizations
• Sweeping statements that include words like “everywhere”, “always”, etc.

In a nutshell, the introduction paragraph of an essay is the first paragraph of the paper. Therefore, it is also the first thing your reader will see in your essay.

To give you an even better idea of what a good thesis should look like, here is a sample statement for an essay about the importance of an adequate work-life balance:

Apart from the strategies mentioned above, there are even more types of hooks that can be used:

We only need your paper requirements to create a plagiarism-free paper on time

• Make each sentence in your introduction a bit more narrow and specific than each previous one. This simple trick will help you draw your reader(s) into the main part of your paper gradually.
• Let’s say you are writing a paper about the importance of a good work-life balance. In this case, you can use a question like “Have you ever thought of how a good work-life balance can influence different spheres of your life?” or another hook, then you can continue on by providing general facts and statistics, and finally, you can narrow down your topic to match your thesis statement.

1. A Common Misconception — a good trick is to begin with is to claim that something that your readers believe in is not true

Part 3: The Thesis Statement

• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• How?
• Why?
• And so on.

When it comes to writing an academic essay, students face four key types of papers most often. These include narrative, analytical, persuasive, and personal essays. Since the purpose of each essay type is different, it is implied that different content should appear within these introductory paragraphs. Here is a complete guide for different paper types with good essay introduction examples:

What is the purpose of an introduction paragraph? A good introduction performs two functions. Firstly, it tells the reader what you are going to be talking about in your paper

If you are wondering how to write an introduction in the best possible way, you should pay special attention to formulating your core statement.