Introductions are one of the main sections of any paper. Similar to paper organization, introductions are vital to any academic papers for capturing the reader’s attention and stating the purpose of your paper.
Unsurprisingly, writing a conclusion is an area many encounter challenges due to the tricky nature of introduction writing. Writing an introduction sucks as a mistake might be detrimental to your paper. How then do you write a captivating conclusion?
In order to explore the various strategies you can use to write a compelling introduction, let’s explore the nature of introductions to give you a foundation on which you can base your writing to make your introductions even more captivating.
What is an introduction?
An introduction is basically the first paragraph of your essay that is designated to capturing the attention of your reader and informing them of the area of focus of your paper. In other word, you can consider an introduction as a telepathic bridge that transports your reader from their lives and experiences into one that your are examining on your paper.
Your introduction should be written in a very effective manner such that your reader taps into your thinking and owns up your area of focus making him/her interested to find out about the facts and evidence you present in your analysis or discussion.
We can hence consider an introduction to have two major functions. The first role that an introduction does is winning your reader’s attention. An excellent introduction should be written in a manner that is captivating to the reader such that they desire to continue reading subsequent sections.
Your introduction should be written as effective as Mister Rogers’ presentation to the Senate Subcommittee- a 3 minutes presentation that made the subcommittee own up his program and approve his funding against a proposed cut by the president. For your introduction to capture your readers’ attention as Mister Rodgers presentation, it has to be precise, well thought and articulated.
A compelling introduction should also serve as a roadmap to your reader. By the time your reader is done reading the introduction, they should be aware of what the paper covers, the importance of your study and how you will be undertaking your study.
Structure of an Essay Introduction
No matter what paper you will be working on, an introduction can be regarded as having three sections: the hook, body sentences and the thesis statement.
- The Hook: This should be the first sentence(s). It should be written in a manner that grabs the attention of your reader. There are various strategies you can use to ensure that your introduction’s hook is captivating as we will explore them later. Example of such attention grabbing strategies include such as use of an anecdote, and stating an interesting fact.
- Body Sentences: These are the sentences that follow the hook. They should build upon your hook and present your area of focus. You should ensure that you answer questions pertaining the focus of your essay, importance of your topic, and approach you will use to undertake your study. You are basically establishing the content of your paper using these sentences in your introduction.
- Thesis Statement: This is the last sentence(s) of your introduction and it presents your claim or arguments that you will be examining in your essay. Your thesis should be devoid of any fallacy and precise. For more information on formulating thesis statement, here is an informative article to check out.
We know what an introduction is and its basic structure: how then do we write a compelling introduction?
Strategies to Write a Captivating College Essay Introduction
There are various strategies that you can use to write a compelling introduction. The strategy you use can vary from one essay type to another.
No matter which strategy you use, you need to start by brainstorming on your essay topic/thesis statement. Your introduction is your first step to answering your essay question/thesis statement and you definitely want to make it as relevant as possible to your research question. Think of the best way to start your essay. How broad do you want your introduction to be – remember you should not be extremely broad when starting your essay, as we will find later in the article.
Once you have brainstormed on the possible way to approach your introduction, find a strategy that applies best to your thought approach and your paper type as well. Some of the common and effective ways to make your introduction catchy include:
- Thought provoking question: This simply involves asking a question at the start of your essay. The question should be leading and relevant to your research question. A question is an effective way to have a compelling introduction as it creates a hypothetical situation for which it invites the reader to be engaged in by seeking to respond to the question.
For instance you can start by ‘Although sociologists have greatly influenced societal operations through the findings of their study, have they undertaken research on the basis of being objective or to compliment previous research?
- Use of dialogue/quote: This is often involved in such as the analysis of movies, novels or plays. It involves quoting one to three sentences from which your research question is based. In case you use dialogue for your introduction, ensure that you give a brief elaboration.
- Anecdote: This is basically giving a story that illustrates your point. It is similar to the use of a dialogue. Your anecdote needs to be brief but comprehensive, relevant and precise to your topic/research question. You should be careful with the use of an anecdote – you should also note that its use is limited to specific papers.
- Startling scenario or information: This is simply stating facts that arouse the interest of your reader. The information does not have to be new but it has to be one that grabs the reader’s interest and mind.
- Use of examples or cases that are intriguing: Use an example or case scenario that will gain the interest of your reader. This example can also be a research finding that is related to your study.
- Dramatic account of a previous event: This approach is mainly used in personal statements or reflection papers. It involves giving a brief and dramatic description of an event that lays ground for the discussion of your paper.
There are numerous other strategies that you can use to write a catchy introduction. You can think of unlimited new ways to introduce your paper. However, for whichever strategy of introducing your paper that you choose, you need to be sure that it is precise, relevant to your topic and is applicable to your type of paper.
Things to consider to ensure your introduction is catchy
- Avoid Lengthy Introductions: A good introduction should be a minimum of three sentences and not more than 10% of your total word count of your essay. Lengthy introductions make your essay sound redundant and appear poorly organized. You are also likely to lose its catchy magic if it will be too long.
- Write your introduction last: It serves you right to write your introduction as the last section of your paper. In case you cannot be able to write your essay without an introduction, you can write a tentative introduction which you can edit later to make it more catchy.
- Be precise: Identify what you will include in your introduction starting from broad to a specific area of interest. As much as you want to start from a broad perspective, avoid being too broad. You should also ensure that your ideas are also precise. Do not include ideas that are too general.
- Ensure good transition: Ensure that there is good flow between your hook, body sentences and the thesis statement. Good logic flow makes your paper interesting to your reader and avoids instances when they have to figure out what you intended to mean or what is the connection between different sentences, which may discourage them from reading through the whole paper.
- Avoid restating the question: It is very tempting for a student to write an introduction paragraph restating the question. Avoid such a practice as much as you can as it can create a bad impression about your paper despite having a great body section.
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