Writing
How to write an introduction paragraph
An introduction paragraph opens an essay in three moves: a hook that catches the reader's interest, background that gives the context they need, and a thesis statement that states your main point. Most school introductions are three to six sentences long and end with the thesis.
The introduction is the first thing your reader sees, and it has two jobs: make them want to keep reading, and tell them exactly where the essay is going. A useful picture is a funnel. You start a little wide, with something interesting about the topic, then narrow down step by step until you reach your precise point.
The three parts of an introduction
- Hook. The opening sentence or two, meant to catch the reader's attention. It might be a surprising fact, a short scene, a question or a bold claim. See hook sentences for twelve kinds.
- Background. One to three sentences that give the reader what they need to follow your argument: the situation, the problem, the debate or key terms.
- Thesis statement. Usually the last sentence. It states your main point and often previews the reasons or parts you will cover. See thesis statements.
Introduction paragraph template
Use this outline to draft your introduction. Each line becomes one or two sentences.
Hook: [A surprising fact, a short scene, a question or a bold claim about your topic.]
Background: [What is the situation? Why does the question matter? Who is affected?]
Narrowing: [Move from the general topic to your exact focus.]
Thesis: [Your main point, plus the reasons or parts you will cover.]
Most people think of [topic] as [common view], but [surprising truth].
Every [week, year, season], [something happens that shows the problem].
For years, [group] has [done something]. Recently, however, [change].
[Topic] matters because [reason it affects the reader].
Although [opposing view], [your position] because [reason 1], [reason 2] and [reason 3].
Introduction paragraph examples
Each of these introductions follows the same pattern of hook, background and thesis, but the hook changes to suit the kind of essay.
Most students at my school can finish lunch in under fifteen minutes, but few of them could cook that lunch themselves. Cooking used to be taught in many middle schools, then slowly disappeared as schedules filled with test preparation. Today, plenty of teenagers can solve equations but cannot boil an egg or read a food label. Our middle school should bring back a required cooking class, because cooking teaches practical math, builds healthy habits and prepares students to live on their own.
A honeybee that finds a good patch of flowers cannot draw a map, but it can still tell its sisters exactly where to fly. Bees live in colonies of thousands, and the whole hive depends on foragers finding food quickly. Scientists have spent decades studying how they share what they find. Honeybees communicate the direction and distance of food through a pattern of movement called the waggle dance, which uses the sun as a compass.
The swimming pool smelled like chlorine and sunscreen, and every person in the beginner lesson was at least eight years younger than me. I was fifteen, and I had never learned to swim. For years I had hidden it, sitting out at pool parties with made-up excuses. That summer, standing in the shallow end with a group of second graders, I learned that being embarrassed is far less dangerous than being afraid to try.
My aunt reads three novels a month on a tablet, while my grandfather will not let a book into his house unless it has a paper cover. Their argument over dinner is an old one, and it has only grown since digital books became cheap and easy to buy. Each format has loyal fans and real strengths. Printed books and e-books offer the same stories, but they differ sharply in cost, convenience and the experience of reading.
Look at the last sentence of each example. It is the thesis, and it tells the reader what the rest of the essay will do. Everything before it exists to make that sentence interesting and clear. The narrative example states a lesson instead of a list of reasons, which suits a narrative essay.
How long should an introduction be?
For a school essay of 500 to 1,000 words, an introduction of three to six sentences is typical, or roughly a tenth of the essay. Longer research papers may use two paragraphs or more. If your introduction is longer than any of your body paragraphs, you are probably giving too much background or arguing points that belong later.
How to write an introduction, step by step
- Write a working thesis statement first. You cannot introduce an argument you have not settled.
- List what a reader would need to know to understand that thesis: key terms, the situation, the two sides of a debate.
- Choose a hook that connects directly to the topic. A fact, a scene or a question works for most essays.
- Write one or two sentences that bridge from the hook to the background, so the opening does not feel pasted on.
- End with the thesis.
- After you finish the body and the conclusion, reread the introduction and revise it to match what the essay actually says.
Common introduction mistakes
- Opening with a dictionary definition. "The dictionary defines friendship as..." is one of the most overused openings in school writing.
- Starting too wide. "Since the beginning of time, humans have eaten food" says nothing. Start close to your topic.
- Announcing the essay. "In this essay I will tell you about..." can be cut; just make the point.
- Hiding the thesis in the middle. Put it at the end of the introduction, where readers look for it.
- Giving away all your evidence. Save the details for the body paragraphs.
- Asking a question and never answering it.
- Using a hook that has nothing to do with the thesis. A funny story about your cat does not lead into an essay on school start times.
Before and after: revising a weak introduction
Since the dawn of time, people have had pets. The dictionary defines a pet as an animal kept for companionship. In this essay I will talk about adopting pets from shelters. There are many reasons this is good.
The dog that changed my family's life cost forty dollars and came with a chewed ear and a nervous habit of hiding under the table. Every year, animal shelters across the country take in millions of dogs and cats, and many of them wait months for a home. Buying a puppy from a breeder can cost many times as much, and it does nothing to empty those kennels. Families looking for a pet should adopt from a shelter, because adoption saves money, saves a life and often brings home an animal that is already house-trained.
The revision cuts the empty opening, the dictionary definition and the announcement. It replaces them with a specific scene, adds background that shows why the topic matters, and ends with a clear thesis that names three reasons. Those three reasons now give the writer a ready plan for the body paragraphs, which you can map out with an essay outline.
Check yourself
1. What are the three main parts of an introduction paragraph?
Answer: Hook, background and thesis. The hook draws the reader in, the background gives context, and the thesis states the main point.
2. Where does the thesis statement usually go in an introduction?
Answer: At the end. Readers expect the thesis as the last sentence, after the hook and background have set it up.
3. Which opening is the strongest hook for an essay about school gardens?
Answer: Last spring, a patch of weeds behind our gym produced forty pounds of tomatoes.. It is specific, surprising and connected to the topic. The other two are overused, empty openings.
4. Why do many writers revise the introduction last?
Answer: Because the essay's ideas often change during drafting. The introduction should promise what the finished essay actually delivers.
Pick an answer to start.