How to write an introduction to an essay

An introduction is the opening paragraph of an essay. It should briefly introduce the topic and outline your key ideas to answer the question. These ideas are then explored in more detail in the rest of the essay and this in turn leads to your conclusion.

An introduction will give the reader their first impression of your ideas. So it’s useful to spend time thinking and planning what to include.

Most essay titles are either a question (how, why, in what way…?) or include a command word telling you what to do. For example, you may be asked to ‘explore’ or ‘describe’ or ‘analyse’ a piece of writing. In the introduction you need to outline your answer to the essay question or topic.

Introductions should be:

• Short - no longer than a paragraph
• Focused on the essay question or topic

Introduce the topic straightaway in your first sentence

How you start your essay will depend on the question or title. If the question is:

Why is Piggy an important character in the novel, Lord of the Flies?

You could answer the question directly in a single sentence:

In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses the character of Piggy to show the reader what happens when society breaks down leading to violence against others and, in Piggy’s case, death.

If the question is:

In what way does Ralph represent moral authority in Lord of the Flies?

You could explain or explore the key words from the essay question in your first sentence:

Moral authority means being trusted to make decisions that are right and good and in Lord of the Flies, Ralph starts by being a good leader.

The next sentences in your introduction will build on this first sentence.

Identify the main topic

An introduction should give the reader a glimpse into your thoughts on the essay topic or question. You could briefly:

• introduce your main idea or key point
• summarise your overall argument
• give some brief background information on the text you are exploring and/or the author’s possible purpose in writing the text

If the question is:

Why is Ralph an important character in the novel Lord of the Flies?

You could introduce the essay by saying:

In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph is an important character because he represents order and civilisation. In the novel a group of boys become stranded on a desert island and, although Ralph tries to keep civility alive amongst the boys, they increasingly become violent and dangerous. Golding is showing that human beings are capable of great evil and cruelty especially if civilisation breaks down. Ralph shows what can happen to a good person put under pressure.

Here the four sentence introduction has:

• stayed focussed on the topic (Ralph) throughout
• given a reason why he is important (he represents order and civilisation)
• given a brief summary of the plot (boys on a desert island becoming violent)
• presented an idea about what the author might have been interested in showing the reader (Golding is showing human beings are capable of evil)
• finished with an overall argument (Ralph shows what can happen when a good person is put under pressure) that can be explored in the rest of the essay

When you read an essay question or title you need to identify the key words, particularly the word or phrase that tells you the topic to focus on.

You then need to make sure you use these key words or phrases in your introduction.

It is not, however, as simple as just putting the key words into a sentence – you need to use these key words effectively to show your ideas and thinking.

So, for example, if the question is:

How is humour used in the play, Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare?

The topic is clearly ‘humour’ and this word needs to be used in your introduction. However simply writing: ‘Humour is used in Twelfth Night in lots of ways’ is not a powerful start. The introduction needs to introduce some of your ideas straightaway.

A better first sentence could be:

Shakespeare uses humour in Twelfth Night in order to make the audience think about ideas that might otherwise be too shocking, for example, the behaviour of women and men, or, nobles and servants.

The key word ‘humour’ has still been used (and other words from the essay question) but the sentence has immediately used the phrase ‘in order to’ to set out your big idea as to why Shakespeare used humour.

Which is false?

• Avoid phrases like ‘In this essay I’m going to write about …’
• Avoid moving away from your topic. Stay focused on the essay title.
• Avoid a detailed analysis of the text in your introduction – you don’t need to start analysing quotations here.