An essay is a piece of writing on a particular topic. In general, you can find several types of academic essays with different goals. But, on the whole, in order to write a great essay, one must possess extraordinary creativity and knowledge. Mainly, the essays are written to educate and entertain those who read them. Apart from that, through essays, you can also persuade your target readers to agree with your opinions or arguments on a certain topic. Even though each type of essay has its own aims and purposes, the only challenge the writers face while crafting the essays is pulling the readers inside the essay and making them read the entire essay. One effective way to handle this issue is by writing an engaging essay introduction.
Are you wondering how an essay introduction can grab the reader’s attention? Well, we are here to explain to you how. Basically, while reading an essay, blog post, article, or any other piece of writing, the first thing that everyone notices would be the introduction section. No matter whether it is short or long-form content, the introduction is the opening section that everyone will pay more attention to while they begin reading. So, if you craft that section in a catchy manner, then definitely your chance of making your target readers read the whole content would increase.
Do you know how to write a catchy essay introduction? If you have no idea, then keep on reading this blog post. From here, you can get to know more about essay introduction and gain a complete understanding of how to write an essay introduction.
What is an Essay Introduction?
An essay introduction is typically the opening or first paragraph of an essay. It will usually present an overview of what the essay is all about to the readers. In other words, the essay introduction can also be identified as an important component that introduces the essay topic to the readers.
The ultimate aim of an essay introduction is to provide neat and clear background information to the readers about the essay topic. Also, the essay introduction aims to grab the reader’s attention and make them read the entire essay starting from the introduction to the conclusion.
Length of an Essay Introduction
Do you know how long an essay introduction should be? Actually, there are no defined rules regarding the length to be maintained for an introductory paragraph. Depending upon the total length of an essay or its vastness, you can fix a size for your essay introduction.
Say, for example, while writing an essay of a 5-paragraph structure, you can prepare an introduction section concisely within a single paragraph. But, in case, your essay content is too broad, you can compose the introduction section with multiple paragraphs.
Generally, versatile writers recommend writing an essay introduction between 8 and 9% of the total word count of the essay.
Features of a Good Essay Introduction
While writing an essay introduction, remember to take into account certain significant points. For your essay introduction, if you just like that pour your random thoughts on the essay topic, then your essay introduction will look blunt. Also, it would become impossible for you to invite your readers’ inside your essay, Note that, the essay introduction you craft is said to be good only if satisfies the following requirements.
- The essay introduction should present brief background details on the essay topic.
- Concisely, it should explain all the major points to be discussed in the academic essay.
- In order to attract the readers, the essay introduction should have a catchy hook in the opening sentence.
- At the end of the introductory paragraph, a powerful thesis statement relevant to the essay topic’s core idea should be included.
- The essay introduction should provide all the necessary details with respect to the settings, frame, time, and characters.
Essay Introduction Writing Steps
Till now, we saw a brief overview of what an essay introduction is and how it should be. Next, let us have a closer look at how to write an essay introduction. In general, according to the standard form of essay, the introduction section is divided into the following parts.
- Hook
- Background Information
- Thesis Statement
So, when it comes to writing an essay introduction, you should make sure to include all three parts coherently.
If you want to create an engaging essay introduction, then during the academic paper writing, make sure to execute the below-mentioned steps in order.
- First, try to hook the readers by using a catchy sentence relevant to your essay topic.
- Secondly, include brief background information on your essay topic.
- Thirdly, at the end of the introductory paragraph, add a strong thesis statement suitable to the essay topic.
- Finally, revise the entire essay introduction and edit if there are any errors in it.
Hook the readers
A hook sentence is one of the effective ways to begin an essay introduction. The main goal of the hook sentence is to catch the attention of the readers. Usually, the opening sentence of an essay defines the tone for the entire essay. So, while writing the first sentence of your essay introduction, try to use the sentence form that is suitable to your essay topic. Say, for example, a humorous statement can be used as an opening sentence for a sarcastic essay. Most importantly, whenever you prepare an academic paper introduction, try to hook the readers with a catchy opening sentence.
Different Types of Hooks
Do you have any idea of how to use a hook effectively? Generally, for creating an amazing hook, there are many different strategies available. For instance, when writing an essay introduction, you can very well open the introductory paragraph with any of the following.
- Anecdote
- Question
- Quote
- Short Summary
- Shocking fact
All the above-mentioned strategies will never distract the target readers. Mostly, it will grab the attention of the readers and will keep them engaged with the essay. Besides these strategies, you can also rely on any other types of hooks for writing the opening sentence of your essay introduction.
Say, for example, while writing the opening sentence of your essay introduction, you can use any sentence that supports statistics, personal story scenes, misconceptions, or a thesis statement. But avoid using the facts or statistics as a plain statement. If you want to hook your readers, use your creativity and come up with a catchy opening statement.
When writing an academic paper introduction, your goal should be to attract the readers to the essay within the first two sentences. So, in order to make that possible, before you begin writing your essay introduction, firstly, understand your target audience. Next, based on the interest of your target readers, use any surprise elements or tricks matching your essay topic to hold your readers’ attention.
While you write a hook statement, avoid using the sweeping statement such as always, everywhere, etc. Also, never use generalizations, clichés, and dictionary definitions.
Essay Hook Examples
Listed below are a few essay hook examples.
Question: How much sugar do you consume in a day?
Statistics: 75% of people pretend to use a phone to avoid interaction.
Quote: Norton Juster, the author of The Phantom Tollbooth, once wrote, “You must never feel bad about making mistakes as long as you take the trouble to learn from them.”
Anecdote: When I was in the eighth grade, I saw a girl wearing a sweater with the word ‘Berkley’ on it. I thought the word was interesting and looked out for the meaning and found it is a great college. Then, I decided that this is where I wanted to study.
Include the background information
After writing a catchy hook statement as an opening sentence, in order to make your readers gain knowledge of your argument and essay topic, you should present a context to your readers. The essay context usually differs based on your subject. Note that, it can be of any of the following.
- An outline of the debate you are dealing with.
- A research topic summary or any theories.
- Definition of a term or keywords.
- Social Context.
It is the second part of the essay introduction where you should include an overview of your essay topic. The background details you provide should be clear, concise, and relevant to the topic of your discussion or argument. While writing the background information, just focus only on the important keywords. Never give all your supporting evidence in the introductory paragraph itself.
Provide a powerful thesis statement
A thesis statement is one of the important parts of the introduction section. After writing brief background details of the essay topic, you should proceed to close the introductory paragraph of the essay with a strong thesis statement.
A thesis statement should be the final sentence of your academic paper introduction. In simple terms, a thesis statement is a statement that summarizes the overall argument or an essay topic. Basically, your thesis statement should give crispy information to the readers about what your entire essay is all about. Remember, your thesis statement should be focused, clear and original. Also, note it is not a factual statement but a claim that requires explanation and evidence.
Proofread and Edit
When writing your essay introduction, organize your ideas in a way suitable to attract the readers. The introduction you prepare should follow the standard structure as specified- hooks, context, and thesis statement. In case, you face any difficulties in writing the introduction section, first, finish other sections like the body and conclusion, and then finally move to prepare the introductory paragraph.
After you complete writing the essay introduction, revise it multiple times and edit if there are any errors in it. Also, make sure to remove the fillers or any unwanted information from the introduction draft that you have prepared. Remember, the final draft of the introductory paragraph of your essay should be powerful, catchy, and to the point.
How to Write Essay Introduction for Different Types of Essays?
Commonly, academic essays are classified into various types. Out of them all, some popular essay types include
- Narrative
- Analytical
- Persuasive
- Personal
In general, the purpose of each essay type is different, and hence the introductory paragraph should also be structured and presented accordingly.
Here are some different types of essays and the effective ways to write a powerful essay introduction for them.
Analytical Essay Introduction
An analytical essay is a type of essay that focuses on dissecting an idea and then educates the readers about that idea. When it comes to writing an analytical essay introduction, you can include information matching your thesis statement or essay topic as a hook. Next, for the context part, you can include any critical information suitable for validating an analytical thesis. As the analytical essay is majorly about analysis, you can phrase your thesis statement, factually, technically, or theoretically.
Persuasive Essay Introduction
As the name indicates, a persuasive essay is typically an essay through which the writers try to convince the readers and make them agree with their arguments or opinions on a certain topic. In the persuasive essay introduction, the opening hook statement can be an interesting fact or a humor sentence. Next, in the middle part, you can briefly discuss the major points related to your essay topic. Finally, in the conclusion part of your persuasive essay introduction, add a thesis statement relevant to the essay topic that you are about to argue or raise a discussion upon. Remember, the thesis statement that you include in your persuasive essay introduction should mainly summarize the persuasion point for your essay.
Narrative Essay Introduction
A narrative essay is a type of essay that allows the writer to narrate a story on any particular topic. In this essay type, storytelling is the core concept. As this essay is mostly related to a story, while choosing narrative essay topics and writing a narrative essay introduction, for the hook statement, you can add a sneak peek of a particular scene in a story that indirectly links to the thesis statement. Next to the hook statement, you can highlight important moments in the story that has an effect on the overall outcome of the story. Mainly, in this type of essay introduction, the moral or a theme of the story will be treated as a thesis statement.
Personal Essay Introduction
A personal essay is a kind of creative, non-fiction essay type. Usually, this type of essay focuses on a writer’s personal experiences. When it comes to writing a personal essay introduction, you can use anything like a joke, a question, or a quote as a hook. Next, for the context part, you can present a brief background of your story. Finally, for the thesis statement, you can provide a short summary of what you have learned from your personal experience, or how that lesson has changed your life or personality.
Essay Introduction Writing Tips-Do’s and Don’ts
In the previous section, we saw how to write a captivating introduction for several types of essays. In the next section, let us see some important tips for writing an introduction.
If you want to prepare a flawless, strong essay introduction, then make sure to follow the below-mentioned dos and don’ts of introduction writing.
Do’s
- Keep in mind the purpose of your essay type and ensure that your essay introduction stands in line with it.
- In order to grab the attention of your readers, use an engaging and appropriate hook in the first line.
- The introduction you prepare should be clearly understandable to your readers.
- If needed, in the introduction section, explain the key terms related to your essay topic.
- The essay introduction should be specific, engaging, and to the point.
- Show your readers that you have strong knowledge of the discussion topic.
- Your essay introduction should act as a roadmap for your readers and help them understand what you are going to present in your essay.
- The essay introduction should be concise. Say, for example, you can have an introduction of 160 words for a 2000 words long essay.
- Your thesis statement should be strong and relevant to your essay topic.
- The introductory paragraph should make a logical and natural transition to the body of your essay.
Don’ts
- Never dump too much background information.
- Avoid including unnecessary points in the introduction section.
- Don’t prepare a lengthy essay introduction.
- Never present all the important details in the introduction itself. Have some important things like evidence or examples hidden and reveal them to your readers later.
- Avoid using clichés or generalizations as a hook statement.
- Never use too many quotes in the introductory paragraph.
- Avoid using phrases like ‘In this essay, I’m going to discuss…’
Wrapping Up
We hope you have now gained a complete understanding of how to write an essay introduction. Writing an introduction section for an academic paper may sound easy. But actually, it is not. Essay introduction writing is a challenging task that requires more time, effort, and writing skills. Especially when it comes to writing an introductory paragraph for your academic paper, first, make sure to have a basic knowledge of the topic and then use any innovative tricks to grab the readers’ attention.
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