What is the thinking process when creating an introduction paragraph? All essay and content writing is:
- Tell us what we are going to talk about.
- Talk about it.
- Tell us what we talked about. Yes, it is THAT simple. NOTE: Yes, I realize there are various related agendas BUT if you focus on this CORE view, the task becomes less challenging. So, the introduction paragraph is telling the reader what the discussion is going to be about. Let's add an item to the "what's going to be talked about" agenda. That is the work's core ASSERTION. Typically, an essay or article is assigned to a student or content writer, and they are challenged with a prompt or a research discussion. For example - let's assume the assigned discussion is gun control. On the topic of gun control ... you might do an argumentative discussion ...
in which case you might try to persuade the reader that gun control won't stop crimes and that it is a waste of resources and energy that is better spent on law enforcement. You might argue the pros and cons of gun control. You could simply discuss why control does or doesn't work with evidentiary support. In any of these examples - there is a statement (assertion) - for more evidentiary discussion... we call this a thesis. Gun-related violence can be reduced through gun control measures like more comprehensive background checks, stricter gun responsibility legislation, and tighter firearms usage profiling. This is an analytical thesis... the core assertion being that 'gun-related violence can be reduced through gun control'.
More it enumerates examples that will be discussed. So, if you need to write an introduction to this essay. You will start broad and lead the reader to the core assertion. Let's digress for a moment to discuss the idea of a 'hook' or in journalistic terms 'the lead'. On the web, it's called 'click bait'. Whatever you call it, it's some phrase or sensational idea that gets the reader's attention.
YES, absolutely in non-fiction too. REALLY. Think of your core essay assertion as the trap and the introductory material as the breadcrumbs (bait) that lead the reader in.
This is where you need to know (i.e. have researched) your topic. One of your research tasks should be to find some provocative line or statistic you can use to 'hook' or 'sink the lead'. I researched gun violence and So, a real live journalist John Gramilich wrote this in February 2022: More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2020 than in any other year on record, according to recently published statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Gramlich 2022). NOTE: I added the citation. This is an example of a real-world hook being used in a published article. It is fair game to use it as your own hook if you give a citation to indicate the source.
So, from that hook you can talk about related stuff... like how many guns are in the United States ... the number of injuries, and how easy guns are to acquire in certain states. You build to the idea ... what can be done about this stuff? One way: More gun control ... and you've led them to the assertion. So, the introduction process (sandwich method):
- Figure out (research) a hook (top bread)
- Topic points between the hook and assertion (filling)
- Know the target assertion (the bottom bread) [Foundation] How do I improve my performance in timed essay writes? Fiction Samples (Indexes)