Write With Me #6 - Introductions
- Tara Hodgson
- Apr 13, 2021
- 4 min read
Now it's time to write the introduction! This is your hook, the thing that gets your readers interested and leaves them wanting to know more For an essay this is how you distinguish yourself from everyone else in your class who submitted an essay on the same topic.
What to include
So the first thing you need to remember about your introduction is that you're introducing your reader to the topics you're going to be covering in the essay. This is what people will read first (excluding abstracts) to understand if your essay is useful for them (if published and they're using it for research), or how engaging it is to the lecturer marking your work.
So, what do you include?
You need your introductory statement. A sentence that relates back to the question or research topic.
Clearly stated thesis statement
A brief explanation of context
Introduction to what you'll be talking about
So, now we know what to include. I bet you're wondering why I suggest writing it last?
You'll have a solid idea of what you're covering in your essay, there'll be no "I will be discussing Jareth's potential fey background" statements that are found nowhere in the body paragraphs because your idea changed. You see which arguments are the strongest and can position the reader to pay attention to these more carefully.
It's also the section that takes me the least amount of time since it's short, to the point and you're summing up everything you've already written about.
I usually aim for introductions to be 200-250 words if writing a 2500 word essay, 500 words if it's a 5000 word essay and so on. You want enough space to give a good amount of context and lead in to your essay, but not too much so that you're repeating yourself or struggling to pad it out.
Examples
Robinson Crusoe written by Daniel Defoe in 1719 uses frequent repetition and symbolism throughout to appeal to the reader and remind them of important factors in Crusoe's life, namely his relationship with God and the way the character himself is representative of the culture.
Good: Gives context - year published, author. Clearto Freud and then back to the book, this could be smoothed out and be more natural.
Needs work: Representative of what culture? That should have a little bit more explanation. It's also quite short (this was for a 2000 word essay and it's under 50 words).
Labyrinth by ACH Smith is a novelisation of the 1986 film by Jim Henson, published to tie in with the release of the film. It is the story of a 15 year old girl, Sarah, and her quest to reclaim her brother from the Goblin King, Jareth, after wishing him away. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic perspective, developed in the early 20th century is an early attempt to gain insight into behaviours and their causes through the subconscious level of thought being analysed. The people and creatures Sarah meets on her quest are firmly from the fantasy genre, encompassing fairy tales with practical, real-world sensibility. They relate to problems Sarah has in the ‘real’ world, showing her subconscious thoughts and desires.
Good: Provides context - year and author for both the psychoanalytic perspective and Labyrinth.
Needs Work: The introduction jumps from Labyrinth to Freud and then back to the book, this could be smoothed out and be more natural. Doesn't quite manage to have a clear statement of what it is the essay will be talking about beyond a vague "the people Sarah meets are related to her problems in the real world".
Thesis Statements
Both examples above could be improved by including clear thesis statements.
What is a thesis statement? It's a sentence that sums up the point of your essay and is usually at the end of the introduction, right before the main body paragraphs start.
Example:
Labyrinth shows a progression from childhood to adulthood. Sarah's experiences of being a caregiver are strongly tied to Toby, whether that's resentment or feelings of protectiveness, and are linked with the fact he is a child and her exit from that period of life. Her journey through the labyrinth is an act of sublimation- using the quest to express unacceptable desires and confront them in order to grow and mature. This is just one defence mechanism the mind employs, according to Freud, to make sense of the world, a crucial part of growing up.
This short paragraph is thesis statement and would have made the original introduction I shared above much better.
A good thesis statement is concise (I've elaborated slightly since I'm linking Freud's psychoanalysis with a novel, meaning I want to introduce both things and how they work together), needs evidence to back it up, and expresses one main idea. You can break this idea down in the main body, but in your introduction it needs to be these things.
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