How to write a strong essay introduction

Making a good impression is important when you are interviewing for a job and it is also important when you are writing an essay. When you are interviewing for a job, your first impression includes your clothing, your facial expression, and your handshake. When you write your essay, the introduction is the only place you can make a first impression. Without a strong introduction, your reader will not be convinced that you know what you are talking about in the rest of the essay.

Elements of an Introduction

A strong introduction includes two vital elements. The first is the hook and the second is the position statement. There is a third element - the connection between the hook and position statement. The hook is always first and the position statement is always last in the introduction. Your connection between the two will help the reader understand how the hook and position statement relate to each other.

Write a Strong Hook

Crafting a strong hook is not a difficult task. You have a few decisions to make. Your hook can be one sentence or several sentences. You also get to choose your hook technique. You can write a hook that includes several open-ended questions. You can also write a hook that includes a series of repetitive sentences. You could also create a hook with a short narrative story. Hooks are the real first impression, so it should be attention-getting. Whatever hook technique you choose, your goal is to get the reader to want to pay attention to what you have written and want to continue reading your essay.

Create a Clear Position Statement

The position statement is the key sentence in your essay. It should generally appear at the end of the introduction. The position statement should be one sentence, which is why it is called a position “statement” rather than “statements”. With one strong sentence, your reader will clearly understand what you are going to prove. When you write your position statement, you should never write anything like, “In my essay, I’m going to…” or anything similar.

Make the Right Connections

Finally, the connection information that you give will help the reader understand why you have the hook you have. Your connecting information could be an explanation of the questions you asked or the story you told. It could also be background information about your topic.