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The Key Parts of an Essay: An Introduction to Introductions
If you’ve ever attended a formal banquet, you probably noticed that the host doesn’t automatically begin with the evening’s primary purpose. Instead, he or she may start with a joke or a story to warm up the audience and to establish a rapport with those in attendance. In other words, the host wants to secure the audience’s attention first before he or she proceeds with the main idea. When you write an essay, you should also use a strong introductory device to secure your reader’s attention before you proceed.
Unfortunately, too many beginning writers start their essays with bland, matter-of-fact statements such as, “This essay will discuss . . . .” or “I plan to write about . . . .” Those statements, obviously, are not very captivating or interesting. So if you want to capture your reader’s attention, you have to do something different. You have to be creative. Here are nine introductory devices you may want to consider.
A Startling Statement. In his 1986 essay entitled “Just Walk On By,” Brent Staples begins with this line: “My first victim was a woman” (75). That sentence intrigues most readers immediately because they assume the writer is a criminal about to reveal details about his crimes. While Staples is not a criminal, he is often mistaken for a criminal, and his startling introduction kidnaps his readers and…
