Introductions

An introduction is your paper’s first impression. If the reader is not interested in your introduction, they will have no desire to read the rest of the paper. So, your introduction should be informative, focused, and engaging.

What should an introduction do?

Without the introduction, the reader might get confused or lost and your thesis statement would make little sense. Thus, the point of your introduction is to provide the reader with the context needed to understand your paper: the exigency (urgency of a situation), the necessary knowledge (history and terms), and the current conversations and research (examples and short summaries).

In other terms, think of your introduction as a portal to another world. You need to transport the reader out of their daily life and into the world of your paper.

Ask yourself:

• What do they need to know to understand the problem?
• Why should they care?
• How can I grab the readers' attention?
• How can I lead them into my thesis statement?

FOR THE HOOK, AVOID:

• using a dictionary definition
• using the title and author
• using grandiose generalizations

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