Written by Write Site Staff
One of the most intimidating parts of writing a paper can be deciding what to include in the introduction. However, it does not have to be intimidating. You make introductions every day.
- You introduce yourself to new people.
- You introduce acquaintances to each other.
- You introduce topics and stories into conversations.
Capture your readers’ attention.
Consider your ideal audience. What will capture your readers’ attention and motivate them to keep reading? Ideas to capture your readers’ attention include famous quotations, personal anecdotes, and startling statistics. For example, you might begin a paper about binge drinking in college with a startling statistic about the number of deaths caused by binge drinking each year.
Start broad but not too broad.
Begin your introduction broadly but as “broadly” as you can as it pertains to your topic. For example, if your paper is about ecotourism specifically. Avoid openings that are sweeping generalizations like, “Everyone loves to take vacations,” or, “Since the beginning of time, people have been interested in exotic environments.” You should narrow your topic as the introduction continues (and over the course of your paper, essay, etc.)
Give readers any pertinent information they need to understand your topic.
The information in your introduction should provide context and define any terms with which your readers may be unfamiliar. For example, if you are writing a paper about weather anomalies, you would need to define what constitutes a weather anomaly for your readers. That being said, avoid using a dictionary definition as “filler” for a word your reader already will know. So, whereas you might define weather anomalies in a paper about that topic, you probably do not need to define what a tattoo is in a paper about tattoo safety.
Let your readers know why you are introducing this topic (thesis statement).
If your paper is argumentative, a thesis statement should appear toward the end of your introduction, generally the last sentence. The thesis statement introduces your reader to why you are writing the paper – the position you will be taking in the paper – and can provide a preview of your argument. For example, if you are writing a paper arguing against school uniforms, you might include the thesis, “Public school students should not be required to wear uniforms, for uniforms make everyone look the same, are not financially equalizing, and disregard the needs of people with sensory processing disorders.”
Remember:
There is no rule preventing you from writing your introduction last! Since the introduction introduces your topic, you will have a better idea of how your topic evolves after you have finished writing. Your argument solidifies by the end of your paper. Waiting until the end to write your introduction can also help you overcome writer’s block if you jump right in and start writing your body paragraphs. It is difficult to know how to introduce something that does not yet exist in its final form, so don’t hesitate to write your introduction after you have written the body of your paper.
TWU Write Site 