Good Introduction for Essay Text

Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

Printable version of this guide this is designed to be printed double sided on a4 paper, then folded to make an a5 leaflet. We also have a series of bitesize video tutorials to help you develop key aspects of your essay writing. Introductions and conclusions are not just the bits tagged on to the ends of your essay.

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They form a conceptual framework which the reader will need to understand your arguments. Always keep your reader in mind when writing the beginning and ending to your essay: what do they need to know at the start so they become interested in reading your essay and can follow the rest of your argument? what do you want to leave them with as the main message of your essay at the end? the best introductions and conclusions tell the reader exactly what they need to know to understand the main body of the essay. It is like consulting the map before starting on a journey it situates the journey in the surrounding landscape, and it identifies the main route. You can think of an introduction as covering what / why / how: what the question is about – explain your interpretation of the question and what it is asking you to do. why the question is important – put the question into context and identify the main issues that are raised by the question.

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how you are going to answer it – let the reader know what you are going to cover in your essay in order to answer the question. If you want to narrow down a very open ended question, tell your reader that you are doing this in your introduction. Explain briefly that you are aware of the many issues raised by the question, but that you are only going to focus on one or two in detail…and why you have chosen these particular aspects. Reading a conclusion should be like looking at a photograph after coming back from the journey it should capture the essence of the journey and allow people to reflect on where they have been. You will need to summarise the main points of your argument, relate these points back to the question, and show the answer you have reached. If your essay question asks you to come to a judgement, for example to what extent… or how far do you agree… , this is the place to clearly outline your reasoned judgement. It doesn't have to be a straight agreement or disagreement, but it is better to have a well reasoned side to your argument, instead of trying to combine every viewpoint into a muddled whole.

It is good practice not to introduce any new information in a conclusion, as the main task here is to close the framework of your discussion by referring back to the questions opened up in your introduction. However it is sometimes appropriate to look forwards and speculate about future developments or trends. Your conclusion should leave the reader with a clear picture of your main argument, and also leave them feeling positive about your ideas. don't end your conclusion with: an apology, or a sentence that dwells on the incompleteness of your argument.

For example, avoid finishing with, if i had more time, i would also have covered…. You may wish to raise some limitations in the conclusion, but do this in the middle of the concluding paragraph, and then end on a strong, positive sentence, such as it has clearly been shown that… a rhetorical question. However, it just leaves the reader unsatisfied, as they expect you to come up with an answer to the question that you have raised. In the main body of your essay, you will be developing the ideas and arguments you have outlined in your introduction. You need to integrate your own ideas with evidence from your reading and other research, and critical analysis.

Organise your writing in three or four groups of related arguments to keep your overall argument coherent and under control. Write in paragraphs and think of each one as a mini essay with its own introductory sentence what this paragraph is about and concluding sentence what was said in this paragraph. Keep your essay question in front of you and keep in mind your end point the main message that your essay is working towards. Make it clear how your arguments and evidence relate to the essay title and be ruthless in discarding anything that isn't relevant. Irrelevant information can actively lose you marks! if you've made a plan see planning structuring your essay for tips on how to do this , you will have a good idea of what you are going to include in your essay. That may not make it any easier to start writing! you might either: start with your introduction.