How to Write an Essay

Introduction
Your introduction acts like a map for your essay’s readers. It
should give necessary background or contextual information
for your topic, as well as present your thesis statement. A
good introduction addresses the “what,” “why,” and “how” of
your topic: What is your essay going to discuss? Why is it
important or useful? How are you going to argue your point?
It can seem a bit intimidating at first, but with some good
preparation and a little hard work, you can write a great
introduction.
 Sample Essay Hooks
Type of Hook Examples
- General Patton once said, “If a man does his best, what else is
there?”
Quotation - When Hillary Clinton said “we must stop thinking of the individual
and start thinking about what is best for society,” she highlighted one
of the biggest issues in American politics.
- There was nothing more isolating than being alone in a foreign
country, with no cell phone, no money, and no ability to speak the
Anecdote language.
- It was Christmas of 1995 when my parents taught me a valuable
lesson: always expect the unexpected.

- Have you ever wondered what you would do if you couldn’t fail?
Rhetorical question
- What’s the one thing you can do to make the world a better place?

- China is going to spend $850 billion to clean up its water supply over
the next decade.
Interesting fact
- Ancient Egyptians used heavy eye makeup to keep evil spirits at bay
and to protect their eyes from infection.
- When I first went to Japan, it was like a baby bird trying to fly for the
first time.
Simile or metaphor
- The high rate of poverty in America is the country’s elephant in the
room.
Part 1 of 3: Prewriting For Your Introduction
1. Think about your “angle” on your topic. If you’re writing an introduction, you
probably already know what your topic is and what you want to say about it. (If
you don’t, you need to go back and do that before you try to write an
introduction!) A good essay has an “angle,” or way of presenting argument or
information, to its readers. Think about what questions your essay addresses
and why they’re important.

• You should have your thesis before you start writing your introduction. It can
even help to save the introduction for last, after you’ve written the rest of your
essay, so you know exactly what your argument is.
• Remember that a thesis statement Is an assertion, not a fact or an observation. It
takes a stand; someone should be able to argue either in favor or against the
argument in your thesis. For example: “Because of its humiliating and
demoralizing effect on African American slaves, black face was used less as a
comedy routine and more as a way of enforcing racial segregation” and “Science
is beginning to seriously question whether a comet, not an asteroid, was
responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs” are both thesis statements. The
first is for an analytical essay, and the second is more for an informative essay.
2. Consider your readers. Your audience probably includes your
teacher or professor, but consider your audience more generally, too.
What information would they need to make your argument or
discussion helpful? Is there background information you need to
provide? Are there terms you need to define? Knowing the answers to
questions like these will help you know what information needs to go
into your introduction.
• Remember that your readers probably already know some things, and
they want to get to the “meat” of your essay as soon as possible.
Avoid opening your essay introduction with huge generalizations or
broad statements such as “Human beings love to learn” or
“Throughout the history of time, people have written poetry.” These
statements almost never add anything to your argument, and thus
they aren’t helpful for your readers.
3. Think of a “hook.” Your first sentence should pull the readers in, making
them want to read the essay because they are fascinated, intrigued, or even
outraged. Opening with a catchy saying or provocative statistic can be
helpful, but make sure that you don’t wander too far from your essay’s
overall purpose. Consider a couple of different types of hooks, and choose
the one that feels the most effective to you.
• You can use an interesting fact or statistic to surprise your reader. While
the fact should be relevant to what you're saying, this is not the place to
state the facts that you are using for evidence down in the body of your
essay. Instead, use it as a way to grab your readers’ attention and let them
know what’s coming. For example: “Although we tend to think of social
media as a young person’s game, the fastest-growing demographic on
Twitter are people aged 55-64.” This statistic confronts an expectation your
readers may have and could set up an argument on the importance of, say,
access to the internet for senior citizens.
• You can also use an anecdote as a hook. If you are writing a less formal paper,
consider beginning with a relevant, humorous, or moving story. This will provide
context and allow the reader to get to know you, or the person or thing you're
writing about, a little bit better. For example: “Sergei Filin was walking home on a
cold Moscow morning when a man in black approached him. With his hand held
behind his back, the man in black muttered something menacing. Before he knew
what hit him, Filin was on the ground, tossing snow in his face, his skin literally
burning off. Filin had been attacked with acid.”
• You can sometimes pose a question as a hook. This is particularly effective if you are
writing a persuasive essay. Draw the reader in with a question that is both relevant
and provoking. For example: “What would you do if you could play God for a day?
That's exactly what the leaders of the tiny island nation of Guam tried to answer.”
• A quotation can be used as a hook, but be careful: this is a cliché way of opening
your essay, and some readers may interpret it as lazy rather than inventive. It’s
usually best to start off with your own words, rather than someone else’s.
• Avoid the “The dictionary defines ____ as” type of openings. They add nothing to
your essay and usually aren’t even helpful (everyone knows how the dictionary
defines love/war/peace/ice cream).
4. Make an outline. It can be helpful to outline your introduction, especially if
you have a lot of information you need to present in it. An outline will let you
know how your introduction “builds up steam” before presenting the thesis
statement.
• After the hook, you’ll probably need to give some background information for
your topic. Give anything that will help your readers have context for what
you’re going to argue. For example, an essay on whether the government
should subsidize farming probably needs to present some information about
what types of crops are grown in the area you’re describing, as well as the
challenges that farmers face.
• You can also give any information about the topic that your readers will need
to understand your argument. For example, if you’re writing an analysis of a
Shakespeare play, it could be helpful to give a brief synopsis of what it’s about
and who the major characters are.
• End with the thesis statement. Here’s where you state your argument or, in an
informative essay, the topic for discussion. If you aren’t sure how to write a
thesis statement, check out our handy article, Write a Thesis Statement.
 Part 2 of 3: Structuring the Introduction
1. Open with the hook. Once you’ve decided what type of hook works best
for your essay, open with it. Some types of hooks can't just be left there, or
they'll wilt and die. Some hooks need explanation. Quotations and questions,
especially, require explanation much of the time. How you explain the quote
can affect how powerful your thesis is, and how much it makes sense. For
example:
• Hook: “How often do you walk past a building and wonder what it looked like 100
years ago?”
• Explanation: “Technology has allowed us to send a man to the moon, develop
vaccines for ailments like polio, and — now — plumb the depths of history for visual
clues to our architectural past.”
2. Follow up with background information. Once you’ve figured out what
context your readers need during prewriting, it should be a cinch to add in
this information to your introduction.

• For example, consider this example thesis from earlier: “Because of its
humiliating and demoralizing effect on African American slaves,
blackface was used less as a comedy routine and more as a way of
enforcing racial segregation.”
• This thesis needs to be set up by the introduction with background
information. The introduction need to give an idea of what blackface
performing was, where and when it occurred, and possibly what some
scholars think about it.
3. Present your thesis. Customarily, the thesis statement goes at the very
end of the first paragraph. Unless you’re directed otherwise, it’s a good
idea to stick with this tried-and-true structure.

• However, in a long or complex essay, you may want to give a road map, or
brief outline of your argument. This isn’t to say you need to give all the
details of your essay in the introduction. Just give an idea of the major
points that your essay will cover.
• For example, an essay about the unification of Italy could sketch out the
main points of the argument, such as the multiple obstacles facing
unification.
• This section helps your reader know where your argument is going.
 Part 3 of 3: Avoiding Common Pitfalls
1. Change your introduction later, if you need to. A common error
students make is to write the introduction first, then the essay, and not
go back to re-read the introduction. Sometimes, your essay’s argument
evolves as you write. Don’t be afraid to go back and make changes
where necessary!

• If you’re stumped, don’t let the introduction give you writer’s block. Write
a placeholder using your outline, then get to the rest of your essay. It may
even be easier to write your introduction once you’ve started the body of
your argument.
2. Avoid the fluff. Fluff and filler have no place in an essay introduction. If
you’re not sure what to say about your topic, though, it can be easy to
write an introduction that doesn’t actually contribute much to your
discussion. Avoid anything that’s a “huge idea,” vague, or don’t say much.
• For example: “Humans love to fall in love. There are many stories and
poems about love. One story about love is William Shakespeare’s Romeo
and Juliet.” This introduction doesn’t give your reader any real
information, and it doesn’t set up a thesis.

3. Skip the sweeping generalizations. It’s tempting to begin by saying

something like “Men and women handle conflict differently” or “Everyone
wants someone to love.” These things aren’t necessarily true, and they’re
too general to be much help in establishing your argument.
4. Keep it short and simple. Your introduction should give the necessary
background to understand your topic, but it shouldn’t get too far into specifics.
You probably won’t need to use quotations in an introduction. If you notice that
your introduction is getting long and detailed, you may need to move some of
that stuff into your body paragraphs.
• A good rule of thumb is to write an introduction no longer than 10% of your
final total (e.g., 1 page for a 10-page paper, 150 words for a 1500-word essay).

5. Avoid announcing your purpose directly. This isn’t to say that your thesis or
introduction should be vague. However, you should try to avoid statements in
your introduction such as “The purpose of this essay is to prove _____” or “In this
essay I will argue that ____.” Your thesis will make the purpose of your essay
clear, if it’s written well.
• There are exceptions to this. Some types of writing, such as scholarly articles,
may ask you to directly state what you will argue in your introduction. If you
aren’t sure whether this is appropriate, ask whoever will be reading it (teacher,
professor, journal editor, etc.).
Tips
• If you are answering an assigned question, be sure that you interpret
it correctly. The quality of your essay will be irrelevant if it does not
answer the question.
• Always start the topic on what you are about to explain and talk
about. Make it more understandable. Make it very exciting or more
helpful. Let the reader know what she is reading and trying to find
out.
• Never begin an essay without knowing your thesis.
• It may be helpful to write your body paragraphs before you write the rest of
the introduction.
• Always double-check your writing and stay on topic.