What are the elements of an effective essay introduction?

Let's study:

This is the second of four lessons about Introductory Paragraphs. To complete this course, read each lesson carefully and then unlock and complete our materials to check your understanding.

Lesson 2 Aims

– Introduce the concept of elements in an introduction

– Describe the seven key introductory elements

– Provide examples of each element to guide the learner

Course Structure

Lesson 1: What is the purpose of an academic essay introduction?

Lesson 2: What are the elements of an effective essay introduction?

Lesson 3: What are some possible introductory paragraph structures?

Lesson 4: What academic language may be useful in an introduction?

Have a question for our community? 🙋

Click here to meet other academics in our Community Forums 💡👩🏻‍🎓

Lesson 2

Effective introductions are often composed of a number of identifiable elements that can be used to the advantage of both the reader and the writer. It’s important that as an academic you’re able to recognise and use these elements in your own writing for the purpose they are intended. We’ve isolated seven different introductory elements that can be exemplified with the following essay question:

1. The Opening Sentence

One of the most important elements of an introduction is its very first sentence. This sentence must both interest and inform your reader, as well as encourage them to keep reading and point them towards the topic of your essay. Consider the following opening sentence in relation to our essay question. This sentence works to introduce and contextualise the topics of ‘technology’ and ‘education’:

2. Background Information

Once the reader has been introduced to the basic topics of the essay, the use of background information will help to inform the reader of any critical dates or statistics which are needed to better understand the content of the essay. Background information may be composed of many sentences, and we’ve provided one example sentence for you below:

3. Defining Key Terms

Some essay topics will also require the introduction and explanation of particular subject-specific terms, such as ‘blended learning’ in the previous example. These definitions should be clear and concise, and introduced early on to the reader:

4. Topic Importance

Sometimes, a writer may also wish to signify essay purpose to the reader by highlighting or explaining the importance of the topic being discussed:

By highlighting such importance, the writer hopes to encourage the reader to feel confident about spending the time necessary to read that essay. Indeed, a reader that feels they may learn something significant about that topic, or perhaps something enlightening or relevant to their own research or daily life is much more likely to read on.

5. Thesis Statements

One aspect of an introduction that you may hear your tutor mention often is the inclusion of a thesis statement. Because a thesis statement should first explain to the reader the purpose and direction of the essay, many basic thesis statements may be very similar to the original essay question:

6. Stance

However, in some essay types (such as evaluative essays), the writer may be required to also provide stance in their essay – which means clearly indicating to the reader the writer’s opinion on that topic. This stance is usually an aspect of the thesis statement previously mentioned:

7. Outline

Finally, one element of introductory paragraphs worth including is the outline. The aim of an outline is to not only inform the reader of the main ideas of the body section, but to also provide the reader with the order of such ideas or arguments. As can be seen in the example below, an outline may be part of the thesis statement or provided directly after it.

Once you’re able to recognise these seven different elements, the next step is to consider their arrangement in the introduction. Should you include each element every time for example, and are there any overall structures which may help you when writing essay introductions?

2 of 4 Lessons Completed

Materials

Once you’ve completed all four lessons about introductory paragraphs, you might also wish to download our beginner, intermediate and advanced worksheets to test your progress or print for your students. These professional PDF worksheets can be easily accessed for only a few Academic Marks.

Guidance Sheet

Our about introductory paragraphs guidance sheet (including all four lessons about this topic) can be accessed here at the click of a button.

Beginner Worksheet

Gain unlimited access to our about introductory paragraphs beginner worksheet, with activities and answer keys designed to check a basic understanding of this topic’s lessons.

Intermediate Worksheet

To check a confident understanding of this topic’s lessons, click on the button below to download our about introductory paragraphs intermediate worksheet with activities and answer keys.

Advanced Worksheet

Our about introductory paragraphs advanced worksheet with activities and answer keys has been created to check a sophisticated understanding of this topic’s lessons.

All-in-1 Pack

To save yourself 5 Marks, click on the button below to gain unlimited access to all of our about introductory paragraphs guidance and worksheets. The All-in-1 Pack includes every lesson on this topic, as well as our beginner, intermediate and advanced worksheets in one handy PDF.

Media

You may also wish to download any relevant PowerPoint activities, teacher resources or audio and video recordings we’ve created about this topic for only a few Academic Marks.

Teacher's PPT

Click on the button below to gain unlimited access to our about introductory paragraphs teacher’s PowerPoint, which should include everything you’d need to successfully introduce this topic.

Feedback

Would you like to receive 10 more Marks to unlock our materials? Community feedback is very important to Academic Marker, so if there’s something you like about our materials or an aspect that could be improved, please contact us using the form below. We’ll then credit your account with 10 Academic Marks to thank you for your feedback.