Introductions

Introductions, along with conclusions, structure and summarize core arguments.  Writing them is difficult because you must balance general and specific ideas so they do not conflict with or overshadow the ideas in your body paragraphs.

 

Confident First Sentence

The first sentence of your introduction is crucial – it provides the reader with a sampling of your voice and style and it sets the tone for the essay as a whole.  This is perhaps the most difficult part of the introduction to write, and you must therefore spend some time finalizing it.

Bad Aristotle lived in Ancient Greece and was probably a nice guy.

Good The fascinating qualities of the Renaissance courtier are carefully brought to life in Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier, in which he attempts to invent the “perfect courtier” according to mannerisms and behaviors appropriate during that time period.

 

Attention Grabber

In order to be truly persuasive, you must convince the audience that your topic is not only worth arguing, but interesting as well!  You can achieve this in a variety of ways: 

Descriptive Language

Use imagery and graphic detail to enthrall the reader:

• Gruel-like gobs of gray meat sluice through thin, begrimed grating, leaving behind bits of hoof and bone so as not to allow them to slip into the ballooning intestinal jacket at the end of the sausage factory production line.

Personal Anecdotes

True-life stories, or those presented as such, can be very effective (they tap directly into the “gossip” center of the brain, which also facilitates reality TV):

• Car horns blared as my sister careened into on-coming traffic, her seizure in full, convulsive swing.

Startling Data

Anything extreme or lopsided, especially little known statistics, can inspire the great “Why is that?” question (which has been responsible for most intellectual advancement throughout the ages): 

• Seventy-five percent of male chimps above the age of seven have consumed the flesh of their parents.

Controversial Perspective

Presenting an unconventional stance has a similar effect to Startling Data—it makes the reader wonder why anyone would do such a thing:

• Some have argued that most powerful humans are descended from dinosaurs—the Reptilians.

 

Development of the Question

Any well-formed argument stems from a question.  Therefore, an important aspect of the introduction is the development and phrasing of this question.  You can accomplish this by putting the argument into context – state any relevant background information. Be careful: you should only include necessary information.  This is also the section in which you may provide previous hypotheses regarding the topic and their insights/inadequacies.

Example

Many scholars have attempted to pinpoint the exact nature of the origin of all world languages.  They have explored everything from methods of inductive reasoning, resulting in the Theory of Universal Grammar, to empirical evidence, provided through the deciphering of archaeological discoveries.

Statement of Problem

After developing the question, you need to state explicitly what you hope to solve.  This should be an organic outgrowth of your development, i.e. your development should be directed to this end.

Example

None of these has been able to fully capture their object; but perhaps a new, more supple and dynamic perspective, including Vedic philosophy and cognitive evolution, can yield a holistic and enlightening picture of our proto-linguistic roots.

 

Thesis Statement 

Now that you have stated the problem, you can give your “solution.” (Keep in mind that this solution takes many different forms in different types of essays.  Thus, in Problem/Solution essays, it will be literally that – a solution, whereas in Literary Explication, it will be the “noticing” or the mode of interpretation you find befitting a character, theme, etc.).  Your thesis should also provide an outline of the main components of your arguments – consider these lines or types of evidence. 

Example

X, Y, and Z accommodate the previous theories, synthesizing their disparate findings, while also compensating for the lack of a developmental impulse, which has robbed language of its humanity for too long.

 

To access more information about thesis statements, click here.

 

Things to Avoid

Dictionary Definitions

Many students will begin their essays with a dictionary definition of a word or concept central to their essay.  This is overdone and ineffective. Oftentimes, the dictionary definition is too general.  Therefore, you should try structuring your own definition of a word, specific to the topic at hand.  This should be a part of the Development of the Question section.

“From the beginning of time”

It is not necessary to demonstrate the weight of any particular argument by citing its grand, storied past in the intellectual endeavors of mankind. This is also overdone and ineffective.  Rather than discussing a topic’s history, you should define it in its own terms.  You may discuss previous work on the topic (see Development of the Question), but this should be succinct and pertinent. 

Thesis-Only

Many students are tempted to jump right into their theses, without the other information outlined above.  This leads to overly blunt or underdeveloped arguments and will not hold your readers’ attention.

 

Some Tips for Writing Your Intro

• Make sure that you follow the path General > Specific, or to put it another way, Question > Problem > Approaches.  This is an important convention as it lends itself to the overall symmetry of the essay at large.
  
  
• Find the balance.  You do not want to give too much information – that is what the body is for.  On the other hand, you don’t want to be so vague or terse that the reader does not understand your first topic sentence.  One method here is the Hemingway Approach – write as much as you can and edit it down to the key elements, as outlined above.
  
  
• Important  In the case of essays dealing with any kind of source material (book, poem, study, etc.), make absolutely sure that you mention the work in the Intro.  This is an integral part of developing the question.
  
  
• Consider writing the Introduction last.  Sometimes it is difficult to know exactly what you want to say before you have actually said it.  This is absolutely fine.  A good tactic to employ in these cases is to draw up an outline of your body paragraphs, write them, and then re-outline what you actually have.  This allows you to find structural problems and provides a visual representation of the fundamental content of your thesis, while freeing you to make adjustments (Don’t feel “trapped” by your intro!).

 

Click here to download a PDF version of this page.