The first paragraph of an academic essay is always the introduction. It serves three main purposes and often proceeds in the order listed below:
1. It hooks the audience’s attention
2. In introduces the purpose of your essay by presenting background information.
3. It states the thesis of your essay.
Hooking your audience
Getting the reader’s attention is sometimes referred to as the “hook” because its purpose is to compel your reader to keep reading about your topic. Below are some common ways to do this:
Provide an anecdote or example
Use a strong, relevant quote
Ask an original, thought-provoking question
Getting to the point
Your hook is related to the topic of your essay, but it is not enough on its own. After you get your reader’s attention, introduce background information. For Essay 1, you could use something from Task 1 or Task 2 — or even part of a response to the reading you’ve done, if it applies to your story.
Thesis statement
A thesis statement is a sentence or group of sentences that sums up the entire argument of your text. it is a preview of your topic and how you are going to make your argument. An effective thesis statement makes a clear, specific. and definable claim. Finally, the thesis statement organizes the structure of your text.
A thesis statement has two main parts:
What you plan to argue
How you plan to support your argument.
At its simplest, for this essay, your thesis statement could be something like:
My _______________ is important to be because _________________, ______________________, and ____________________.
Your intro should be at least half a page long, but no more than a page long. Don’t make the mistake of putting all the material for your whole essay in the introduction! For this first essay, I’d like you to underline the thesis statement, so you and I both are clear about what it is.
Please note this assignment is due on Thursday of this week!!!
