Writing a good introduction paragraph

1. Open your introduction with a hook that will grab the reader’s attention. Suggestions:
starting with a question or a scenario.

Example: What would someone’s life be like if she were forced to work night and day for evil
relatives who take her for granted?

Example 2: Imagine a life in which a person was forced to live in a hostile environment where
she is overworked and underappreciated.

2. Connect the hook to the character of the book and mention the title and author.

Ex: Cinderella, the main character of the folktale Cinderella, by the Brothers Grimm, finds
herself in this exact situation.

Remember, book titles get underlined if hand-written, or italicized if typed. Book titles and
authors get capitalized.

3. Provide a sentence or two of general background information. You don’t have to go too
far into detail about the story, but you should provide some general information for those
that might not know much about the story or those that need to be reminded. You can
provide the background information in one or two sentences.

Example: Throughout the novel, the reader follows Cinderella as she deals with these family
issues and searches for happiness.

4. End with your thesis (main idea). Remember to keep it very general, because you will
make it more specific and provide details in the body paragraphs.

Example: In dealing with her unusual circumstances, Cinderella truly shows how caring, hard-
working, and humble she is.

Example 2: Cinderella’s personality is clearly revealed by her actions and reactions to the events
in the story.

Remember that a good introduction should be brief, concise and end with a
closing sentence that will be transitional to the next paragraph.
 Do NOT:

 Use the words “you”, “I”, or “my” in your essay

 Use the phrases “I am going to write about”, “In this essay I will
show”, or other phrases like these. Just say what you are going to
say!
 Provide too much background information by summarizing the
book. Just provide enough background information as a reference.
One or two sentences should do it.

Example introduction paragraph:

What would someone’s life be like if she were forced to

work night and day for evil relatives who take her for granted?
Cinderella, the main character of the folktale Cinderella, by the
Brothers Grimm, finds herself in this exact situation.
Throughout the novel, the reader follows Cinderella as she deals
with these family issues and searches for happiness. In dealing
with her unusual circumstances, Cinderella truly shows how
caring, hard-working, and humble she is.