Writing Your Introduction

There are a number of ways to write an introduction to your essay:

a.  You can begin with some general statements that gradually lead to your thesis:

    Students face all kinds of problems when they start college…[talk about specific problems they face]…My biggest problem in college was learning to organize my time.

b. You can begin with a quotation that smoothly leads to your thesis:

    One computer magazine has said, “There’s no reason to buy a desktop computer these days when you can get so much power and flexibility from a laptop” (34)…[discuss the quote as you lead to your thesis]…I would buy a laptop computer over a desktop because laptops are almost as powerful as desktops and they can be carried almost everywhere I go.

c. You can tell a story as a way of leading to your thesis:

    My friend Jeremy is two years older than I am, so he started college before me. Over Thanksgiving Break I called him to make plans to hang out. He told me he was just going to sleep. I didn’t really understand why he would want to do that over this whole break. When I started college myself…[tell the story about problems in college]… My biggest problem in college was learning to organize my time.

d. You can explain why this topic is worth writing about (without announcing your paper):

    I do not remember a word of what was said during my freshman orientation, and I wish I did…[talk about what was said at orientation and how you missed it]… My biggest problem in college was learning to organize my time.

e. You can use one or more questions to lead into your thesis:

    Have you ever stayed up all night to study for an exam, then fallen asleep at dawn and slept right through the time of the exam? If you have, then you are probably the same kind of college student I was…[in two or three sentences explain what kind of student you were]… My biggest problem in college was learning to organize my time.