Introductory Essay Examples, Best Guide for a Perfect Introduction

Introductory Essay: Are you a good essay writer? Well, even if you are not one who is so prolific in writing, and you don’t know how to structure your essay, the good thing is, a good essay begins with a good introduction and here on this spot, I will guide you through on how to write an introductory essay and why it is important.

An introductory paragraph, as the opening of a conventional essay, composition, or report, is designed to grab people’s attention.
It informs readers about the topic and why they should care about it, but also adds enough intrigue to get them to continue to read. In short, the opening paragraph is your chance to make a great first impression.

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Introductory Essay Examples: Writing a Good Introduction

The primary purpose of an introductory paragraph is to pique the interest of your reader and identify the topic and purpose of the essay. It often ends with a thesis statement.

You can engage your readers right from the start through a number of tried and true ways. Posing a question, defining the key term, giving a brief anecdote, using a playful joke or emotional appeal, or pulling out an interesting fact are just a few approaches you can take.
Use imagery, details, and sensory information to connect with the reader if you can. The key is to add intrigue along with just enough information so your readers want to find out more.

One way to do this is to come up with a brilliant opening line. Even the most mundane topics have aspects interesting enough to write about; otherwise, you wouldn’t be writing about them, right?

When you begin writing a new piece, think about what your readers want or need to know. Use your knowledge of the topic to craft an opening line that will satisfy that need.
You don’t want to fall into the trap of what writers call “chasers” that bore your readers (such as “The dictionary defines…”). The introduction should make sense and “hook” the reader right from the start.

Make your introductory paragraph brief. Typically, just three or four sentences are enough to set the stage for both long and short essays. You can go into supporting information in the body of your essay, so don’t tell the audience everything all at once.

Introductory Essay Examples: What is the Purpose of the Introduction?

The purpose of the introduction is to give your reader a clear idea of what your essay will cover. It should provide some background information on the specific problem or issue you are addressing, and should clearly outline your answer.
Depending on your faculty or school, ‘your answer’ may be referred to as your position, contention, thesis, or main argument. Whatever term is used, this is essentially your response to the essay question, which is based on the research you have undertaken.
An essay is not like a mystery novel that keeps the reader in suspense; it should not slowly reveal the argument to the reader. Instead, the contention and supporting arguments are usually stated in the introduction.
When writing an introduction, you should typically use a ‘general to specific’ structure. That is, introduce the particular problem or topic the essay will address in a general sense to provide context, before narrowing down to your particular position and line of argument.

Introductory Essay Examples: Steps for a Perfect Essay Introduction

Step 1: Hook your reader

Your first sentence sets the tone for the whole essay, so spend some time on writing an effective hook. Avoid long, dense sentences — start with something clear, concise, and catchy, and make sure it’s directly relevant to what follows. Some strategies to write a hook include:

A surprising fact or statistic
A question
A quotation
A brief anecdote
A broad summary

Always avoid cliches and generalizations:

Dictionary definitions
Sweeping claims that use words like “always” or “everywhere”

In academic essays, don’t worry too much about coming up with a hugely creative or exciting hook — it’s more important than your first sentence leads the reader into your essay and gives a good sense of what it will be about.

In our example, the first sentence simply introduces the topic in a concise, compelling way:

Example: hook

The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability.

This sentence makes a bold claim that emphasizes the importance of the topic, but it doesn’t over-generalize. It gives a good idea of the essay’s general purpose and approach but doesn’t give away too much information.

Step 2: Contextualize your Topic

Next, give your reader the background information they need to understand your topic and argument. Depending on the subject of your essay, this might include:

Historical, geographical, or social context
Definitions of unfamiliar terms
A summary of current scholarly debates, theories, or research

The information you give should be broad but clearly focused and relevant to your argument.
Don’t give too much detail — you can mention points that you will return to later, but save your evidence and interpretation for the main body of the essay.

How much space you need for background depends on your topic and the scope of your essay. In our example, the writer takes a couple of sentences to introduce the topic and sketch the social context that the essay will address:

Example: contextualizing the topic writing system of raised dots, widely used by blind and visually impaired people, was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. Although it initially met with resistance from sighted people, Braille eventually became central to blind people’s education and autonomy, giving them unprecedented access to cultural activities and social participation.

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Step 3: Establish your purpose and position

Now it’s time to narrow your focus and show what your essay aims to do. This is your thesis statement — a sentence or two that sums up your focus and overall argument. This part of the introduction paragraph is important to set the limits of your essay and let the reader know exactly which aspect of the topic you will address.

The thesis statement often takes the form of a strong argument for a particular position. But in expository or analytical essays, it’s more like a map of the central points that the essay will demonstrate and analyze, as in our example:

Example: thesis statement

The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new; Braille adapted and simplified existing methods to create the first writing system specifically for blind people. But its success depended on acceptance among sighted people before the social status of blindness could truly be transformed, and this process was shaped by broader debates about disabled people’s place in society.

The two-sentence thesis statement covers the main points that the essay will discuss: Braille’s development from other tactile reading systems, its effect on blind people’s status, and the social processes that allowed it to become successful.

Although in this case there is no direct argumentative statement, the thesis still takes a clear position: the underlying argument is for Braille’s importance in relation to the social context of the time.

Step 4: Check and revise

As you research and write, your argument might change focus or direction as you learn more. For this reason, it’s often a good idea to wait until later in the writing process before you write the introduction paragraph — it can even be the very last thing you write.

Whether you write your introduction first, last, or somewhere in between, you should return to it and check that it matches the content of the essay. Make sure you have included only necessary and relevant information.

See sample introduction in context, take a look at the essay example below.

Introductory Essay Examples

After going into how to write an essay introduction let’s start with something real and useful. Introduction structure for essay requires certain things to be included. Read those samples and try to figure out what parts were used.

Default essay introduction example: Paper question: How are modern technologies used in your class?

Contemporary science is totally into the most modern technologies, and our classroom is not an exception. Digital tools like computers, smartphones, laptops, tablets are very important. While our parents were fine with only pens and paper, our generation needs more. This is because of the new era of technology. The new view of life and the world requires new tools and approach.

Argumentative Essay Introduction

Argumentative essay introduction should get your personal opinion on the topic:

The issue of ecological catharsis is one of the most challenging and painful these days because of the growing problems regarding it. We all can debate about it because one group of people say that we are killing our planet and others say that it just does not matter. I think we should stop damaging our planet now.

Persuasive Essay Introduction

Persuasive essay introduction also should get maximum personal attitude and attention to the topic:

I disagree with the death penalty. This method of applying measures to outlaw people are dated and can’t be used in the modern society. We are no longer wild animals. We should not treat other people like animals either. The main thing about preventing crimes is not fear but proper education and level of life.

Compare and Contrast Essay Introduction

In his compare and contrast, essay introduction the student should describe two sides of his problem. It is easier to get two totally different options. It is always better to start with a brief description of a problem and then both of your factors:

When you look at Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece there are obvious similarities. In this paper, we will discuss them. But the main purpose of this paper is to show those differences that made those ancient counties the most influential and inspirational for future generations.

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StudentsandScholarship Team.

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