How to write an essay introduction, steps to writing a essay.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay. Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The “hook” is the first sentence of your essay introduction. It should lead the reader into your essay, giving a sense of why it’s interesting.

You have a strong introduction - now make sure the rest of your essay is just as good.

• Catch your reader’s attention.
• Give background on your topic.
• Present your thesis—the central point of your essay.

More examples of essay introductions

Example: Signposting This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

1. An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
2. Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
3. A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

This introduction to an argumentative essay sets up the debate about the internet and education, and then clearly states the position the essay will argue for.

It’s especially important to make sure your thesis statement accurately represents what you do in the essay. If your argument has gone in a different direction than planned, tweak your thesis statement to match what you actually say.

You've almost finished. The last paragraph of your essay is your conclusion. It, too, can be short, and it must tie back to your introduction.

Write a paragraph about each of these key points, using the information you've pulled from your notes. If you don't have enough for one, you might need a stronger key point. Do more research to support your point of view. It's always better to have too many sources than too few.

• America Needs Better Health Care Now
• The Use of the Mentor Archetype in _____
• Who Is the She-Conomy?
• Why DJ Is the Queen of Pedicures
• Melanoma: Is It or Isn't It?
• How to Achieve Natural Balance in Your Garden
• Expect to Be Changed by Reading _____

Anything you write will benefit from learning these simple parts of an essay:

Body of Information

Echo / Cultura / Getty Images

The body of your essay is where you develop your story or argument. Once you have finished your research and produced several pages of notes, go through them with a highlighter and mark the most important ideas, the key points.

Some people will tell you to wait until you have finished writing to choose a title. Other people find that writing a title helps them stay focused. You can always review your title when you've finished the essay to ensure that it's as effective as it can be.

Put your idea into a single sentence. This is your thesis statement, your main idea.

First, take a look at this student’s Essence Objects and 21 Details:

If your answer is “Maybe … ?” because you’re not sure what qualifies as a challenge, it’s useful to think of challenges as being on a spectrum. On the weak end of the spectrum would be things like getting a bad grade or not making X sports team. On the strong end of the spectrum would be things like escaping war. Being extremely shy but being responsible for translating for your family might be around a 3 or 4 out of 10.

A: Don’t give up! Remember: be patient. This takes time. If you need inspiration, or assurance that you’re on the right track, check out Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED Talk, “Your Elusive Creative Genius.”

I mention this now because, in my experience, many students are under the impression that they have to write about challenges—that it’s either expected, or that it’s somehow better to do so.

The difference between a boring and a stand-out personal statement

A: Yes. Sometimes it can be too difficult to discuss them. Or you may be actively dealing with a challenge. If this is the case, reach out to your counselor, a trusted mentor, or, if possible, a therapist.

Here’s an essay that one student wrote after completing this exercise:

My beads: Connection, creativity, fun/laughter, family, competition, knowledge

If you divide it into more than three, that is also a recipe for frustration. It’s just too many.

However, as we know, most instructors will expect some kind of an introduction. So, we’ll add one sentence before we get to the main point.

Note that I took out the phrase “for three reasons.” It is unnecessary because it is clear that you are providing three supporting points. And the whole paragraph sounds better this way.

In your conclusion you can do one of several things. But I recommend that, as a beginner, you stick to the time-proven restatement.

Introductions

Again, I’m using a personal example to show that whoever spends the most time with the child will have the most influence.

We really want to make sure that these supporting points are different from one another. Are they?

Let’s say that we are given a choice – whether we agree or disagree that parents are the best teachers.

Not long after, Korea was occupied by Japanese forces. This period brought many changes that helped the country to advance, but also played a role in oppressing cultural peculiarities and the Korean language. The transformation of Seoul included the improvement of the transport system and adaptation to a bigger population (Seoul Architecture Guide 25). These changes led to the extension of the banks of the Hangang and swift reconstruction of the surrounding districts. The scenery of the biggest river in Seoul has become one of the most popular destinations for citizens and tourists alike. The metropolis as we see it now is the result of its fast capability to adjust and cater to the needs of its population. Growing numbers of the city residents had increased the differences between the groups. It came to the point where metropolitan inhabitants mixed with the farmers and other types of rural populations, creating a special cultural mix specific to Seoul.

A characteristic feature of the informal style is a first-person appeal, with the use of “I.” An informal style makes it possible to improvise, and a formal style is more structured with a particular template. Typical for the formal style is the use of the pronoun “we.”

If you compare two essays that are identical in content, but written in different styles, then the informal one will be shorter. Do you know why? Because the formal style often involves the use of longer words. Unlike the informal style, phrasal verbs are not used in the formal style, except those that can not be replaced by a longer equivalent. The same should be done with nouns: if you have a choice between a simplified word and it’s longer, technical variant when writing a formal essay, choose the longer one.

If you have to write a formal essay, the first thing you should do is read through our sample on the vision of Seoul. In case you don’t know how to start writing, an example of an essay is what you need. The more samples you read, the more understanding of how you need to complete your own paper you will have. So, check out our example to get some useful ideas.

Steps for Writing a Formal Essay

1. Title – the name of the essay, reflecting the theme of the narrative.
2. Introduction – 2-4 short sentences that cover the topic of the essay.
3. The main body – 2-3 paragraphs, describing the essence of the work. In them, you need to fully and competently open the topic, give arguments, and argue them.
4. Conclusion – 2-4 sentences summarizing everything that has been said before. In this part, you make a general conclusion on the topic of the essay.

In the informal style for writing essays, the use of active voice prevails over the use of passive. Informal essays are more personalized, while formal essays speak about facts.

Knowledge of formal expressions is useful not only when writing academic essays and passing exams, but also in many other life situations. After all, sometimes simple phrases and a vulgar style are unacceptable, and their use can spoil the opinion about you.