Start as you mean to go on! The art of good essay intros.

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Writing essay Introductions.

The purpose

of introductions:

The introduction to any essay

should do the following things:

·

Show that

you have read and understood the essay question or title by working the key

words into your own writing.

·

Introduce/set-up

your position/argument in relation to the essay title/question by briefly outlining

the line of argument you will take in the course of the essay.

How should

introductions be written?

The introduction is the first

thing that the examiner will read therefore you need to grab their attention

and make them believe that you know what you are talking about.

You should:

·

Write in the

third person.

·

Use formal,

Standard English.

·

Use the key

words of the question so the examiner can see you have understood it

·

Be brief and

concise – you should be able to say everything you need to say within one

paragraph!

Phrases to

avoid when writing introductions:

In

this essay I am going to . . .

This essay will show

how . . .

In response to this

question I am going to . . .

In this essay I will

prove that . .

Or any other phrases that

resemble these in any way!!

In addition, do not just write

out the exam question as the first sentence of your essay or even as a title.

It is an unnecessary waste of precious exam time as the examiner knows which

question you are answering and by writing it out you are not showing any

interpretative skill, simply that you can copy out text.