Learning to write an introduction is fundamental when writing an essay, because it is the first element that allows you to capture the attention of your corrector. It is even from it that you will lay the foundations of your argument, by trying to present a coherent structure from the start.
Giving a good first impression is both arousing interest while introducing the main theme of the essay; while placing the corrector in a good general disposition, so that he reads the rest of your development with a good a priori.
It is about using a unique method, composed of four stages, all absolutely and undeniably necessary if you are preparing to write an effective introduction.
Together we will detail the writing process that will allow you to differentiate yourself from other students, while adopting a method that you will never lose.
I - Understand the subject
A preliminary step may seem like a waste of time, but it is quite the opposite, because if you do not start by understanding your subject with a step back, you risk starting to write without having fully understood what could be expected of you.
Therefore, you must delve deeper, question yourself and define each term of the question or problem that is posed to you. This involves drawing at least two lines of thought, which must correspond to the course concepts, and will then allow you to establish a plan; this same plan that you will have to present at the end of this introduction.
So, if you had to develop an introduction for an essay on climate change, in order to be effective you would have to define what it represents, and focus immediately on one or two key points. In this example, you could address in your introduction the urgency of the climate crisis that we are going through, as well as the many solutions that exist thanks to renewable energies.
In such a way that, thanks to your definition of the subject, you would have succeeded in grasping two very distinct elements from each other, which, while encompassing your subject, are sufficiently precise to start thinking about a plan.
II - Capture the reader's attention
Capturing the attention of a proofreader is not a sentence that you throw into the air, nor an idea that you could do without, quite the contrary, you must use this opportunity that the introduction represents to stand out, and make your copy an object of desire.
The goal for you, to be different, and to this end you must use a powerful hook. This can then be a rhetorical question, a controversial statement or even a surprising metric data.
Whatever you choose, the goal is to arouse curiosity and interest, it is important that it is understood that you master the subject so well, that it is easy for you to criticize it from the first lines.
Still in the hypothesis of an essay on climate change, you could say, "Will we still be altruistic when we only have water for 3 billion people? » Such a question provokes, it can even shock, and your reader will want to know more, understand if you have foundations for your point, and especially what they are.
III - Provide contextual information
If you have correctly captured attention with your hook, it is then time to provide real information about your current subject of study. That is to say, you need to contextualize. This is a common but often misunderstood step, it is not about giving an idea of the political or historical context, it is simply academic, you need to give a first guideline to your essay, therefore say what you intend to talk about, and why you will talk to us about one subject and not another.
As such, it may be appropriate to grace your text with one or two definitions that you will make with your words to the extent possible. Because it allows you to include all at once, your vision of the subject, the facts surrounding it, and the framework that you are going to give to a subject that is sometimes too vast to be treated as a whole.
If we wanted to do such a thing in the example essay on global warming, it might be good to start by defining what it means, not literally but for the world to come. Why not include a numerical figure or the failure of the Paris and Montreal Agreements that we are unable to respect.
By doing this, your corrector would immediately understand that you are going to take a rather factual and international direction with regard to the study of the subject.
This is a part of your introduction that lays the foundations of your argument, so above all feel free, because the relevance of your facts as well as the accuracy of your definition are less compared to the understanding of the subject that you must convey.
IV - Present the thesis
Finally, after a hook, a delimitation of your subject, and its contextualization, you only have one step left to take, that of the problematization.
Make no mistake, it is very often at this precise moment that you lose your corrector, and that he begins to consider a mark for your copy whose value he already estimates. You must at all costs avoid simply repeating the statement and instead try to bring an approach that is personal, because a well-constructed question will serve as a guide for your entire essay, the only scope of which is to provide an answer to the question that you and you alone decide to ask.
An example of a question that you could ask concerning our example would be: Is the transition to renewable energies an effective solution in mitigating the long-term effects that we face?
A clear problem that allows us to understand that you are going to approach your subject from a critical angle, without simply repeating a statement that is often quite general and unclear.
Conclusion
It is absolutely necessary that you practice writing introductions to your essays, because without a good command of this academic exercise, you will see your grades drop over the years, and you would be too far behind.
While this could quite easily become your strength, and each of your assignments could benefit from a softer look from a corrector who would then be pleasantly surprised to read you.