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First impressions matter. Of course, you would not care to read the rest of the blog if you are not hooked right from the beginning. While brands lose prospects when they do not care much about the quality of the content, students lose precious grades when they write essays with no solid foundation and attraction for the readers.
There is no denying that writing an essay is hard, even with the advent of online tools and prompts builders. The quality of writing comes from research, grit, and hard work. Many students struggle with advanced words to use in an essay to make an impact and fail.
In this blog, we will highlight the importance of essay introductions, essential elements, and how to write a riveting essay introduction.
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Essential Elements of An Effective Essay Introduction
Even though writers are not sure what a good introduction to an essay is made of, there are recurring elements that are found in all the best ones. These are the elements that can be balanced in the opening lines and weave magic. Let us go through these quickly before we dive deeper into each one of them in the succeeding sections.
A Hook
As the name suggests, it is a trap that lures the readers in and shows them that there is more to the essay than what they thought in the beginning.
Background Information/ Context
Before getting to the meat and bones of the essay, it is necessary to ease readers into the subject by providing important background information.
Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is a bold and brief passage or a single sentence that carries the gist of the main idea or theme behind the topic.
Setting The Perfect Hook
When it comes to setting the perfect hook for the introduction of your essay, it is easier said than done. Many writers have failed to win the readers in the opening lines, yet it is important to do so. This section is dedicated to helping novice writers set a well-researched and practical hook.
Example of A Solid Hook
When it comes to the example of a solid hook, let’s say that you are writing an essay about the economic conditions of the US in the last decade. It could be a figure-fest for the readers as they would be expecting boring numbers and history. But you can spice things up by connecting the narrative with the readers. For instance, you can say that “in the last decade, more college students have dropped out than any time in history because of the rising cost of education”. See, it connects with the reader and implores him to read more.
Types of Hooks For Your Perfect Essay
In the example, we have relied on a more statistical type of hook, but that is not the case in every hook. Depending on the scope of your essay and the level of your academic qualifications, you can compose hooks from almost anything. The most common types of hooks or useful phrases for academic writing include:
- A statistic
- A direct question
- A quote
- A shocking or bold statement
Choosing The Right Hook
As we have highlighted in the last passage, it is up to the writer to pick the right hook based on the scope of the project and the tone and voice of the essay. It should be complementing the whole narrative by grabbing the attention of the reader.
Providing Background Information/ Context To The Readers
After setting an effective hook, writers need to provide some background information to the readers. There are healthy chances that many readers would not be aware of the topic or the main focus of the essay. So, it is the writer’s job to fill the gap with short but comprehensive background information.
Why Context Is Important
The importance of context in essay writing does not need any convincing because even scholars know that education and research are moving at an unprecedented pace. Both readers and writers need to bridge voids to understand one another. A fulfilling context makes all the difference between a good introduction and a great introduction.
How To Provide Context In A Perfect Essay Introduction
Building on our example from the previous section, we need to provide context for the last decade of economic activity by taking into account what happened before and after that period. In other words, by highlighting the contrasting details, we can make the topic clearer for the readers.
Striking The Perfect Balance
Many writers make the mistake of either writing too long a context or just too short. In reality, it needs to strike a perfect balance between what the reader already knows and what they should know before delving into the main body of the essay.
Encapsulating The Main Idea Through Thesis Statement
By now, students would know what a thesis statement is. It is a compact passage or a single sentence that highlights the main idea or theme of the essay. Ideally, it comes in the closing lines of the introduction where it bridges the opening of the essay with the main body paragraph.
Rationale Behind Formulating A Solid Thesis
Essay writing is about a writer’s take on a certain topic. Based on the type and scope of the essay, readers should know the inclinations of the writer toward the argument. That’s why a solid thesis lets readers know what they should expect in the upcoming paragraphs.Â
What Makes A Good Thesis
If you want, more than some words to use in an essay to sound smart, here are some of the characteristics of a good thesis:
Brevity
Boldness
Comprehensiveness
Relevant/ To the point
Mistakes to Avoid In A Thesis Statement
It is a recurring theme in essays from novice writers that they make a lot of mistakes in the thesis statement. We are identifying them in bullets so that writers would keep them in mind and ensure that they are not making the same ones.
Here are the mistakes to avoid in thesis statements at all costs:
Restating the title of the essay
Writing a vague and confusing line
Something that is not incorporated in the essay
Creating A Clear Essay Roadmap
Apart from hooking the readers in and providing a foundation for the essay, the introduction of the essay provides a clear roadmap to the writers. In the opening lines, they can decide which way they want to go, defining the scope and depth of the write-up.
Importance of Outlining & Premeditation
Many writers consider outlining and creating a roadmap for the essay as the death of creativity. That’s not the case because writers are free to think up new ideas but they can hurdle the progress. The best way to integrate new solid ideas is during the editing or proofreading phase.
Tips For Choosing A Heading
Apart from lending a clear start and hook, the introduction can make all the difference for the writers in terms of the progress of the whole essay. Instead of burning all the nascent potential in the beginning, allow yourself to write a solid introduction and take things from there. In that way, writers can leverage the contents of the introduction to their advantage.
How To Refine Your Perfect Essay Introduction
Refining the introduction of an essay is not different from editing or proofreading any other piece of writing. Only in this case, the fine-tuning is a means to an end, but not an end itself. Apart from touching all the bases, writers need to make sure that the introduction is covering the whole essay, in a letter and spirit.
That’s why we dedicated the opening section to the composition of the introduction with three distinct parts. Writers can work on them and ensure that;
- Readers are hooked
- They have ample information
- Their views are encapsulated in a thesis
Once they cover these areas, they are set to ace the whole essay.
Summing Up The Discussion
It would be an understatement to say that writing a good essay takes a lot of time and effort. When it comes to novice writers and students in schools and colleges, the struggles get even more acute because they often lack the training and tools to compose riveting essays. The introduction of the essay not only lures the readers in but adds tremendous value to the overall writing. In this blog, we have provided a complete roadmap for writers to compose excellent essay introductions.
Still, for those who are not up for the challenge, PerfectEssay provides exceptional essay writing services. We have a team of certified writers with advanced degrees and years of relevant experience in writing academic essays for students. Our services are always confidential, despite the competitive price tag. So, get a well-written essay today to ace your grades!
