📦 Essay Introductions
September 6, 2022
- What should an introductory paragraph do?
Rhetorical Analysis Essay
- Establish the rhetorical situation of the topic text (SPACE).
- Provide a thesis focused on the rhetorical CHOICES (CAT) that make the text rich or persuasive.
Both
- Set the tone for the rest of the essay.
- Preview how the essay will be developed
Argument Essays
- Establish the topic of the argument
- Give the context of the argument — why is it timely or important? And for whom?
- Provide a thesis that takes a STANCE on the topic.
- What should an introductory paragraph not do?
- Weigh down the essay — for a short essay, a few focused sentences are enough.
- Introduce evidence — save your quotes and paraphrases
- Use any self-referential phrases (eg. in this essay I will…), or set up the essay as your opinion (eg. I think/feel/believe that…)
- How to start an introductory paragraph — argument
Ineffective Starters 👎
- Random quote you found on Google about the topic (eg. “’I never let school interfere with my education — Mark Twain”, to open an essay on the value of public schools)
- Merely repeating the essay prompt
- A question to the reader (eg. Did you like school when you were a student?)
- Broad or vague claims (eg. since the beginning of time… education is important for everything…)
Effective Starters (when done well) 👍
- A relevant quote from an obviously relevant source that you immediately link to the essay’s topic
- Setting up the context for the argument; why does it matter and who cares about it? (eg. Today while the United States seeks to regain leadership in industry and creativity, its students increasingly view their education as irrelevant to their future
- A surprising (and relevant) fact or piece of data (eg. Today, high school graduation rates are at an all-time high.)
- A brief, humorous, or touching observation or example that also established the topic (eg. Every day, millions of American teenagers sacrifice eight hours of precious youth to help boost the economy twenty years from now…)