WRITING AN EFFECTIVE

INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS AN
INTRODUCTION?
• First paragraph/section of your essay
•Gain the reader’s attention
•Provide important background information
•Show the essay’s:
• Main idea
• Purpose
• Direction
WHAT SHOULD YOU HAVE
IN AN INTRODUCTION?

• Have an effective hook – get reader’s interest and attention

• Give important background information
• Have a clear thesis statement which shows the essay’s
purpose
THE HOOK
• Grab reader’s attention – make them want to keep reading
• Can be:
• A question
• A quote
• An anecdote
• An interesting fact
• An intriguing idea
• Must be related to the subject of the essay
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
• Gives a brief overview of the subject
• Introduces the broad topic(s) of the essay
•Provides necessary general information:
•Concepts
•Facts
•History
•Definitions
• You must know who your intended audience is – what might/might not
they know already?
• Allows you to provide readers with important information they need to
know for the essay
THESIS STATEMENT
• The central idea or main argument
•Reflects your purpose for writing the essay
•Can outline/list the major supporting points to be
discussed
•Usually appears as the last sentence of the introduction
HOW LONG IS AN
INTRODUCTION?
• Depends on the essay
• Shorter academic essays: one, well-developed paragraph
•Longer more-complex essays: maybe more than one
paragraph
•Must always have:
•Hook
•Background information
•Thesis Statement
WRITE THE INTRODUCTION
FIRST
• Do you have a clear idea of the thesis statement,
organization and structure?
•Do you prefer to write in chronological order?
•Do you have a clear outline?
•Does the information in the essay match what the
introduction says will be in the essay?
•Always revise for consistency
WRITE THE INTRODUCTION
LAST

• You already know exactly what is in the essay

•Match and accurately reflect the essay’s content
• Know what you are introducing before actually introducing
it
THINGS TO AVOID
• Don’t elaborate
• Don’t provide:
• Specific supporting evidence
• Examples
• Details
• Don’t start with a dictionary definition
• Don’t be too vague, general and/or unclear
• Don’t give too much or irrelevant information
• DO stay focused.