San José State University Writing Center

www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter
Written by Samantha Clark

Writing Introductions for Essays

Essay introductions should attract the reader and provide some information about what is to
come. However, how you begin your essay depends on your rhetorical situation, which refers to
your academic purpose and audience. The introduction typically provides your argument and
context for that argument by explaining how your work fits into a larger conversation, addresses
specific questions, or explores a new aspect of the subject.

Consider your rhetorical situation.

Understanding the assignment is imperative to your success. Consider why you are writing, what
your writing should accomplish, and what your stance on your topic is. Think about the purpose
of your assignment. Is your instructor evaluating your creativity, critical thinking skills, writing
ability, or knowledge of a topic? In your essay, are you supposed to persuade, explain, or
entertain? Are you asked to analyze, compare, prove, or describe something? Think about whom
your audience is. You will want to present evidence your audience will find persuasive and avoid
repeating information they already know. You also need to choose the appropriate language.

Open your essay in an engaging way.

The opening of your essay should generate interest about the topic. Often students are advised to
begin broad, and they take this to mean that a sweeping statement—like “Sports mean many
things to many people”—makes a good opener. But such sweeping claims do little to help
readers focus their attention on your argument. Instead, consider an opening strategy that will
engage your audience in your subject, disposing them to listen to the argument.
A Quotation
Because this method is often overused and poorly used, make sure to choose an appropriate
quotation that directly or indirectly relates to your topic. Your explanation should provide
relevant background and contextual information.

Opening a Political Discussion with a Quotation

If there is a single point of consensus in this heated political moment, it
is that everyone loves the Constitution. “Conservative or liberal, we are all
constitutionalists,” Barack Obama wrote in The Audacity of Hope. Ted Cruz,
the junior senator from Texas, who emerged as a principal antagonist of the
President’s during the government shutdown, has often said much the same
thing. The Founding Fathers, Cruz said, “fought and bled for freedom and then
crafted the most miraculous political document ever conceived, our
Constitution.” ~Jeffery Toobin, “Our Broken Constitution,” The New Yorker,
December 9, 2013

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Statistics or Interesting Facts
Provide attention-grabbing facts that will draw in your audience and show the importance of
your essay.

Opening a Historical Essay with a Statistic

Despite the 1.5 million people who died in the Armenian Genocide in
1915, there, unfortunately, is still political and historical debate over whether
genocide even occurred.

A Concession
Start your essay by acknowledging an opposing or different argument or approach than you will
take in your essay to strengthen your credibility, gain common ground with your reader, and
demonstrate the strength of your own position.

Opening a Critique with a Concession

In spite of all of our teachers’ and bosses’ warnings that it is not a
trustworthy source of information, we all rely on Wikipedia. Not only when
we cannot remember the name of that guy from that movie, which is a fairly
low-risk use, but also when we find a weird rash or are just feeling a little off
and we are not sure why. ~Julie Beck, “Doctor’s #1 Source for Healthcare
Information: Wikipedia,” The Atlantic, March 5, 2014

A Definition
Avoid simple dictionary definitions and instead provide an expanded definition that shows how
the term applies to your essay.

Opening a Scientific Essay with a Definition

Beavers transform ecosystems unlike most species. By building dams
and felling trees, they shape their environments. Beavers not only provide
ecological benefits, but economic benefits as well. They provide restoration
services for free.

An Anecdote or Narrative

Paint a picture or describe a scene. This method is good for personal statements and
personal essays as well as for argumentative essays.

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 Opening a Review Essay with an Anecdote

As the statuesque Cate Blanchett clutched her statuette, she sent an acid
air kiss Sandra Bullock’s way. The Blue Jasmine star told her vanquished best-
actress rival, who was gamely smiling after losing for Gravity, “Sandra, I
could watch that performance to the end of time, and I sort of felt like I had.”
But then Blanchett turned all feminist, doing a Nobody-puts-Baby-in-a-niche
smackdown. She chided industry colleagues “who are still foolishly clinging to
the idea that female films with women at the center are niche experiences,”
adding: “The world is round, people.” ~Maureen Dowd, “Frozen in a Niche?”
New York Times, March 4, 2014

Offer background information.

Once you have opened the essay, provide enough background information to introduce your
topic and to show how your position or thesis can be important. Share recent news, findings, and
statistics or define concepts from which your thesis is developed.

State your thesis.

With a good grasp of your topic, you will have developed a unique perspective on the topic you
are arguing. Avoid long summaries of other arguments in your introduction as much as possible;
your essay is about your thoughts of the source material. Offer the reader more nuanced ways to
see or understand the subject—you should avoid stating an obvious fact. Your thesis should
compel readers to rethink or reassess the subject you share with them in the context you have
defined. Someone should be able to argue against your thesis.

The Introduction Paragraph Structure

The structure of an introduction paragraph parallels an inverted triangle. You introduce the
conversation about the topic broadly and move toward the narrow tip that is your thesis within
the conversation.

Open the introduction broadly with a hook to introduce the topic.

By providing context and explanation, begin to narrow the topic
down to a manageable thesis.

End the introduction with your thesis statement, which may also
function as a roadmap of your paper, explaining what you will
discuss.

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Activity 1: An Analysis of a Model Introduction
Read John Powers’ introduction to his essay on the emotional climate in the United States after
Barack Obama was elected. Look at how the writer assessed his rhetorical situation, opened his
essay, provided background information, and conveyed his intention. Does he state a thesis?

Even the president plays a symbolic, almost mythological role that is hard to
talk about, much less quantify—it is like trying to grab a ball of mercury. I am
not referring to using the bully pulpit to shape the national agenda but to the
way that the president, as America’s most inescapably powerful figure, colors
the emotional climate of the country. John Kennedy and Ronald Regan did this
affirmatively, expressing ideals that shaped the whole culture. Setting a
buoyant tone, they did not just change movies, music, and television; they
changed attitudes. Other presidents did the same, only unpleasantly. Richard
Nixon created a mood of angry paranoia, Jimmy Carter one of the dreary
defeatism, and George W. Bush, especially in that seemingly endless second
term, managed to do both at once. ~John Powers, “Dreams from My
President,” The American Prospect, May 8, 2012

1. Rhetorical situation: John Powers’ essay “Dreams from My President” was published
for a liberal political magazine. His audience is knowledgeable about politics, so he
avoids stating obvious facts but instead brings up new perspectives that will interest his
audience. His purpose is to explore a topic, not to persuade.

2. Opener: His essay opener defines the president’s role in a way that fits his topic. He does
not define the president as the leader of the United States; instead, he states that the
influence of the president is intangible, sometimes misunderstood, and worth exploring.

3. Background: The introduction provides context to an essay that explores the “emotional
climate” of the United States after Barack Obama became president. The author begins
by describing the national moods during some former presidents’ administrations because
in the rest of the essay, he will do the same for Obama and will compare Obama to some
of his predecessors.

4. Thesis: John Powers’ introduction paragraph does not provide an explicit thesis
statement; the author chose to describe the emotional climate created by President
Obama’s predecessors. However, the introduction paragraph does preview what is to
come. Try to write your own thesis statement for this introduction.

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Activity 2: Brainstorming Introductions
Identify the rhetorical situation and write a hook and thesis statement for the following essay
topics. Consider the examples and tips.

1. Does texting affect writing?

A writer writing about the texting essay could open with a sentence that looks like this: R
u able 2 read this? Then, the writer could explore the degradation of language due to
texting, the art of conversation, and the articulation of ideas.

2. How true to history is the novel Like Water for Chocolate?

The essay on the historicity of Like Water for Chocolate could be written for an English
or history class. How would a different class affect the content and focus of the essay?

3. Legalizing marijuana in the U.S.

Is the purpose of this paper to write about the history of marijuana policy, detail the
economic impact of marijuana, or persuade the audience to stand for or against legalizing
marijuana? The writer could easily begin the essay with an interesting, unknown-but-
relevant fact about marijuana.

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