What to include in an Introduction

Writing the introduction to your essay can be the most difficult part of it – the sight of a blank page in front of you can be quite daunting! If this is the case for you, consider just jotting down a rough thesis so that you know what you’re trying to argue in your main paragraphs and come back to the introduction later. Don’t forget to add it though – it is an essential part of your essay.

A good introduction will immediately give the marker confidence in your writing. Think of it like a menu – if you were handed a scruffy looking menu offering a limited number of unappetising meals, you would start the meal expecting disappointment; if the menu looks professional and describes delicious meals, your expectations will be high. First impressions count in essay writing as much as in any other area of life.

Just like the menu, your introduction (and, indeed, your essay) should not be written using first person pronouns. Using “I” will make you sound unsophisticated; instead refer to “readers” or “the audience.”

Some people like to start with a quotation, but I would not recommend that. They rarely add much to an essay and are more likely to mislead your reader and complicate your focus.

Obviously, different essays for different questions and exam components may have their own requirements but, as a rule, a good argumentative essay should do the following:

1. Let readers know the question or problem you will be exploring. You can pose a question that will lead to your idea (in which case, your essay will be the answer to your question), or you can make a thesis statement. You may choose to do both: you can ask a question and immediately suggest the answer that your essay will argue. Remember here that an unusual or original thesis or idea will grab the attention of the marker far more than an obvious one. It’s important to state your own point of view here but be wary of being too strident in your tone at this stage as your introduction should open a discussion, not close it down.
2. Briefly establish the essay’s context, as this is the frame within which you will approach your topic. This can help to focus your discussion g. introducing a novel within the context of its genre, or in the context of a controversy it provoked. There is an important distinction between the context of the novel (which is likely to be huge) and the context of the essay (which should be far narrower). Don’t give too much context here – if it is relevant, it will serve you better as part of your analysis in the main body of your essay.
3. Provide a brief summary of the text you’ll be exploring but do not summarise the whole plot. If the text is well known, your summary, for most audiences, won’t need to be more than an identifying phrase or two e.g. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s tragedy of `star-crossed lovers’ destroyed by the blood feud between their two families, the minor characters . . .
4. You can write a statement in which you signpost how your essay will be structured but this is not essential e.g. the issue of………will be explored by examining …………’s presentation of a, b and c. Remember not to use the first person to do this.

There are no set rules about the order in which you write the introduction but, often, a question or thesis statement works well at the end of the introduction, as it leads nicely into the main part of your essay.

Example:

Title: Explore how Shakespeare presents the relationship between Hamlet and Claudius.

Introduction:

Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy, Hamlet, is commonly assumed to focus on the protagonist’s attempt to take revenge on his uncle for the murder of his father. However, Hamlet’s negative opinion of Claudius is evident before he is told of the murder indicating that his hatred for Claudius is based on more than just this crime. This invites the audience to see that their relationship was doomed even without the Ghost’s command that Hamlet take revenge, perhaps suggesting that the play is less a revenge tragedy than a play about a man’s attempt to kill a relative he dislikes.

• Thesis or argument set up
• Literary context established (this is relevant as the thesis questions the ‘revenge’ element of the genre).
• Brief summary of the play, focusing only on the part which is relevant to this argument.