Everybody wants to create a great first impression with the perfect introduction with the hope to hook the reader. But most of us struggle to find the right words that can create the effect we hope to achieve. That is why it is essential to learn how to write the perfect introduction to your essay, homework, or thesis.
Usually, we put in a lot of effort into planning the body of our homework. We also conduct extensive research to gather the information that we wish to present. But we often overlook the preparation needed to write an introduction that can do justice to our homework or assignment. You must put in an equal effort to gather data for the perfect introduction as you did while finding your homework answers. It is best to create the points for your introduction simultaneously with the research for your assignment. You should not have to resort to generic statements that do not support your arguments from the body of the essay.
Why Does the Introduction Matter?
An ideal introduction should indicate your stance you are going to assume in your essay. It should be able to provide a context with the points or arguments that you have presented in the body of the assignment. A perfect induction should feel like a map that reveals the route to go through the paper. If your introduction is weak or dull, the reader might not feel interested enough to read every word of the assignment. Your teacher or professor would skim through the essay and give you a lower grade than you deserve.
How Long Should an Introduction Be?
The first thing to keep in mind is that your introduction is not an excuse to try and make your homework look longer than it is. If you attempt that, your teacher or professor would see through it and mark you down. The ideal length of an introduction should be relative to the entire length of the paper you are presenting. For example, if your assignment is ten pages, your introduction should be one page. The introduction should be long enough to cover the following points.
- Your purpose behind writing the assignment.
- Why should your reader pay attention to what you have written?
- The arguments that you are going to present in the paper.
- What is your stance in those arguments, should you choose to take one.
- What methods are you going to employ to present those arguments?
Essential Elements of an Introduction
The structure of an introduction should be like an inverted triangle. You should start with a broad array of aspects related to your topic, and then eventually narrow things to the specifics presented in your assignment. In the initial part of the introduction, provide some background information linked to the topic. But the data should not be entirely random. It must relate to the body of the essay. You can include some historical knowledge or social trivia related to your topic. You should mention a few keywords related to the evidence that you have discussed in the article. Then narrow things down to your point of view that leads the reader to the body of your homework. The historical or social trivia, as well as the keywords, should be intriguing enough to pique the interest of the reader.
Avoid These Typical Aspects
Before you throw in some generic statements about the topic in the introduction, imagine how many times your teacher or professor might have gone through the same lines. Avoid these ancient ways of writing an introduction, unless you want your reader to feel bored.
- Do not start with a definition from a dictionary or Wikipedia. Any person can google it and find out what your topic means. Don’t give the first impression that you lack originality.
- Avoid putting a quote by a famous person that may or may not be relevant to your topic. Quotes are considered generic too, and won’t get regarded as an effort towards your assignment.
- Cliches might work well in blogs and personal narratives, but they have no place in an introduction to your homework. They will create an impression that your work lacks research.
Elements That Make an Introduction Interesting
Now that you know what to avoid let us discuss how you can make an introduction spot-on.
- Introduce engaging statistics that support your data and research.
- Present a false statement or a delusion that you are going to refute in the body of the essay.
- A question that provokes the reader to think over it or wonder what you have to say about it.
- A fascinating personal observation that you deduced during your research.
Now that you understand the foundation to write an introduction, go ahead and try crafting an impressive one for your essay.