Why an “Introduction”?

• The purpose of an introduction is to prepare  the reader for the body of writing that comes  after it. 

• You know what you are writing about and why. But unless you inform your readers of this in an introduction, they will feel lost and judge your essay to be an unclear piece of work!

Introductions

• Introductions are not all the same.

• The introduction to a paper is a very important section, in that it sets the expectations of the reader. While there is no one formula for a good introduction, in general, an introduction to a formal paper of this type should accomplish the following: 

• 1. An introduction should attract the reader's attention. Magazine and newspaper articles often accomplish this with brief but interesting anecdotes, questions that intrigue the reader's curiosity, something of personal relevance to the reader, or other appropriate quotations, stimulating questions, or statements. You shouldn't feel that you have to dramatize, instead,  just raising the interesting issue that your thesis explores is enough to pull your reader in. 

• 2. An introduction should establish the significance of your point to the reader. You should convince your audience that it should care about what you have to say, though attention to relevance and significance is part of constructing a successful thesis. 

• 3.  An introduction can give a preview of how you are going to demonstrate your thesis. Writers often summarize in a brief list of three or so points how you are going to back up your thesis, so as to prepare the reader and improve the reader's recognition and retention of those points. 

• 4. Most of the times, an introduction should tell the reader explicitly what the thesis (the point of the paper) is. After having read the introduction, the reader should have no doubt about what the central point of your paper is. 

Your second paragraph will often connect the opening anecdote or statement to the rest of the paper, providing a transition from your generalized introduction to your detailed look at your first point. It is also a common technique to refer back to your opening in your conclusion, providing a satisfying closure to the paper. 

Although a successful introduction will follow these general guidelines, none of them should imply a rigid formula, nor will I expect one.