Writing the introductory paragraph is often one of the trickiest parts of writing an essay. Your introduction is an important road map for the rest of your paper and conveys a lot of information to your readers. You can let them know what your topic is, why it is important, and how you plan to proceed with your discussion. In many academic disciplines, your introduction should contain a thesis that will assert your main argument. Your introduction should also give the reader a sense of the kinds of information you will use to make that argument and the general organization of the paragraphs and pages that will follow. After reading your introduction, your readers should not have any major surprises in store when they read the main body of your paper. Although there is no set formula for writing a successful introduction, here are some suggestions to consider.

Parts of an Introduction

1) Grab the Reader's Attention

Here are some techniques to get the paper started. Remember, use a technique that is ACTUALLY interesting and not overused or cliché. And remember that not every option is best for all papers.

Provide a relevant statistic
Cite a relevant quotation (NOT a cliché!)
Relate a personal anecdote
Begin with a dramatic narrative
Pose a provocative question
Give an amazing or unusual fact
Offer a bold opinion
Use dialogue
Start off by defining the problem
Manke an interesting analogy

*PLEASE NOTE: Defining a term is not listed above. If a definition is used to start a paper, it must be interesting. Giving a dictionary definition does not usually interest the audience in reading further.

2) Introduce the Topic and Bring the Reader into the Conversation
This section is the “guts” of an introduction. Here the writer will introduce the specifics about the topic of the essay. Often times, writers will vaguely or loosely discuss related ideas to their topic; avoid this when possible. For example, when writing a paper about Romeo and Juliet, specific information should be given about the play that pertains to the particular topic of the essay and also the discussion going on about the particular take on the topic. DO NOT summarize what love is!

3) State the Thesis
The thesis statement sums up the paper’s main idea in one or two sentences. It is recommended to write a preliminary thesis statement, which is an early version of the final thesis, to use as guide for the first draft. After writing the first two parts of an introduction, a writer may build on his preliminary thesis statement and use it as a final thesis statement. Remember that a thesis should be specific and should state the essay’s topic as well as the opinion of the topic. For example, the thesis of a paper on Romeo and Juliet might sound like this: The actions of the protagonists in Romeo and Juliet reflect the two reoccurring themes love and sacrifice.

TIP #1 - Try writing your introduction last! You may think that you have to write your introduction first, but that isn’t necessarily true, and it isn’t always the most effective way to craft a good introduction. You may find that you don’t know precisely what you are going to argue at the beginning of the writing process. It is perfectly fine to start out thinking that you want to argue a particular point but wind up arguing something slightly or even dramatically different by the time you’ve written most of the paper. The writing process can be an important way to organize your ideas, think through complicated issues, refine your thoughts, and develop a sophisticated argument. However, an introduction written at the beginning of that discovery process will not necessarily reflect what you wind up with at the end. You will need to revise your paper to make sure that the introduction, all of the evidence, and the conclusion reflect the argument you intend. Sometimes it’s easiest to just write up all of your evidence first and then write the introduction last—that way you can be sure that the introduction will match the body of the paper. Don’t be afraid to write a tentative introduction first and then change it later. Some people find that they need to write some kind of introduction in order to get the writing process started. That’s fine, but if you are one of those people, be sure to return to your initial introduction later and rewrite if necessary.

Introductions for Different Types of Papers

In a humanities essay, a strong introduction does most or all of the following:
1. engages the reader’s attention
2. identifies for a reader the essay’s critical question/focused topic
3. provides background information necessary to help readers understand the scope of the topic
4. explains why that critical question/topic matters
5. suggests the writer’s answer to that question in the form of a thesis statement
6. outlines a method of approach for exploring the question/topic

Tip #2 - Try "The Funnel" Technique
The Funnel: Introductions may often be likened to funnels in that they tend to move from general to specific, with your thesis statement being the most specific statement you make in the introduction.

Sample Funnel Introduction for a Humanities Essay:
Communicating with a partner is like ballroom dancing: both require plenty of back-and-forth as communicators and dancers try to get it right, and as the conversation and dance steps may, at times, be difficult. In the case of heterosexual relationships, communication difficulties between men and women are largely due to differences in men and women’s communication styles, according to Deborah Tannen. In “Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” Tannen analyzes the differences between men and women’s communication styles and offers suggestions for negotiating the misunderstandings that may crop up in relationships as a result of those differences. While Tannen’s observations may be true for some couples, her essay relies too heavily on generalities and stereotypes to be seriously helpful to couples coping with major communication difficulties.

In a scientific research paper, a strong introduction does most or all of the following:
1. provides the research context for the problem/question being addressed
2. states how the writer’s own research will fill in the missing bricks in the wall of research already
done on this topic
3. explains how and why this research is important
4. gives some sense of the paper’s overall organization

The Funnel (see reverse) can also be used as a model for scientific introductions.

Sample Funnel Introduction for a Scientific Paper:
Our laboratory has been involved in the analysis of the HLA class II genes and their association with autoimmune disorders such as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. As part of this work, the laboratory handles a large number of blood samples. In an effort to minimize the expense and urgency of transportation of frozen or liquid blood samples, we have designed a protocol that will preserve the integrity of lymphocyte DNA and enable the transport and storage of samples at ambient temperatures. Although very good results have been obtained using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of DNA extracted from dried blood spots on filter paper (1,4,5,8,9), this preservation method yields limited amounts of DNA and is susceptible to contamination. As an alternative, we have been investigating the use of lyophilization ("freeze-drying") of whole blood as a method to preserve sufficient amounts of genomic DNA to perform PCR and Southern Blot analysis. In this report, we summarize our analysis of genomic DNA extracted from lyophilized whole blood (Torrance, MacLeod & Hache, p. 64).

Useful scientific introductions are neither too broad nor too narrow in approach:
While it is not advisable to overwhelm readers by relating your research field’s entire history, you do need to provide readers with enough information about your project so that they can understand the importance of your research even if they are not experts in that area.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you’re revising your introduction:
• Have I explained the theory or model I am addressing?
• Have I related the research problem to that theory?
• Have I introduced known facts that support or do not match up with the theory and then suggested explanations for any discrepancies?
• Have I stated the problem in specific terms?
• Have I ordered my information in a step-by-step, logical fashion?

Less Effective Introductions

Here are some examples of things to AVOID in your introduction.

1. The placeholder introduction. When you don’t have much to say on a given topic, it is easy to create this kind of introduction. Essentially, this kind of weaker introduction contains several sentences that are vague and don’t really say much. They exist just to take up the “introduction space” in your paper. If you had something more effective to say, you would probably say it, but in the meantime this paragraph is just a place holder.

Example: Slavery was one of the greatest tragedies in American history. There were many different aspects of slavery. Each created different kinds of problems for enslaved people.

2. The restated question introduction. Restating the question can sometimes be an effective strategy, but it can be easy to stop at JUST restating the question instead of offering a more specific, interesting introduction to your paper. The professor or teaching assistant wrote your question and will be reading many essays in response to it—they do not need to read a whole paragraph that simply restates the question.

Example: The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass discusses the relationship between education and slavery in 19th century America, showing how white control of education reinforced slavery and how Douglass and other enslaved African Americans viewed education while they endured. Moreover, the book discusses the role that education played in the acquisition of freedom. Education was a major force for social change with regard to slavery.

3. The Webster’s Dictionary introduction. This introduction begins by giving the dictionary definition of one or more of the words in the assigned question. Anyone can look a word up in the dictionary and copy down what Webster says. If you want to open with a discussion of an important term, it may be far more interesting for you (and your reader) if you develop your own definition of the term in the specific context of your class and assignment. You may also be able to use a definition from one of the sources you’ve been reading for class. Also recognize that the dictionary is also not a particularly authoritative work—it doesn’t take into account the context of your course and doesn’t offer particularly detailed information. If you feel that you must seek out an authority, try to find one that is very relevant and specific. Perhaps a quotation from a source reading might prove better? Dictionary introductions are also ineffective simply because they are so overused. Instructors may see a great many papers that begin in this way, greatly decreasing the dramatic impact that any one of those papers will have.

Example: Webster’s dictionary defines slavery as “the state of being a slave,” as “the practice of owning slaves,” and as “a condition of hard work and subjection.”

4. The “dawn of man” introduction. This kind of introduction generally makes broad, sweeping statements about the relevance of this topic since the beginning of time, throughout the world, etc. It is usually very general (similar to the placeholder introduction) and fails to connect to the thesis. It may employ cliches—the phrases “the dawn of man” and “throughout human history” are examples, and it’s hard to imagine a time when starting with one of these would work. Instructors often find them extremely annoying.

Example: Since the dawn of man, slavery has been a problem in human history.

5. The book report introduction. This introduction is what you had to do for your elementary school book reports. It gives the name and author of the book you are writing about, tells what the book is about, and offers other basic facts about the book. You might resort to this sort of introduction when you are trying to fill space because it’s a familiar, comfortable format. It is ineffective because it offers details that your reader probably already knows and that are irrelevant to the thesis.

Example: Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, in the 1840s. It was published in 1986 by Penguin Books. In it, he tells the story of his life.

Sources

Fred Meijer Center for Writing & Michigan Authors, Grand Valley State University. (n.d.). Introductions and conclusions. Helpful Handouts. https://www.gvsu.edu/cms4/asset/CC3BFEEB-C364-E1A1-A5390F221AC0FD2D/introductions-and-conclusions-with-comic.pdf

Mt. San Antonio College. (n.d.). Introductory paragraph . Writing Center. https://www.mtsac.edu/writingcenter/handouts/introductory_paragraph.pdf

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (2024, May 14). Introductions. The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/introductions/