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How to Write an Essay Introduction

Published by at August 18th, 2021 , Revised On March 21, 2023

The introduction section aims to engage the readers and provide initial information later in the essay. Following are the main objectives guiding how to write an essay introduction:

  • Attract the reader’s attention
  • Provide background information
  • Define the objective of the essay
  • Proofread and brush up

Example of Essay Introduction 

This essay introduction example provided here is extracted from the interactive essay example on Artificial Intelligence.

This essay aims to understand the developments in learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and understand artificial intelligence facts and myths. The essay has also presented arguments for the impact of artificial intelligence on humanity.

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics are evolving at a rapid stride. Still, there has been little attention paid to the threats it serves to humanity, employment, and public policy. Concerning the latter, Karsten (2015) stated that the emergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning would take away their jobs, affecting public policy.

According to Ghahramani (2015), artificial intelligence and machine learning have currently influenced people’s lives, as artificial intelligence applications are quite diverse with far-reaching possibilities. This has been subjected to recent developments and improvements in computer hardware, aiming to solve complex social challenges and offer virtual humans (Bendel, 2013).

Artificial Intelligence algorithms have already passed the human expert capacities; they also prove that their implementation in different industries will continue to expand in the upcoming years. In real terms, the Artificial Intelligence algorithms would probably be optimized to a greater degree, which may attain humans’ intelligence level.

The recent change in machine learning and artificial intelligence is likely to portray historic and unprecedented moral challenges. Many experts believe that, along with global opportunities, Artificial Intelligence and intense Machine learning also pose risks towards the formulation of nuclear technology (The Guardian, 2014).

Besides, the risk associated with science also suggests a high potential of damage, resulting from the recurrent machine learning and implementation of Artificial Intelligence. Given the discussion above on AI and machine learning development, a clear set of arguments supported by the literature has been presented in this essay.

Step 1: Engage your Reader

The first sentence of your essay introduction section provides a plot for your whole essay. Make sure that you grasp the reader’s attention with a strong starting sentence.

Don’t use lengthy, vague content for your sentence; rather, try to develop something precise and attractive. Start your essay with clear, captivating sentences in a way that directly links to what is coming afterward.

You might consider including the following to engage your readers:

  • A question
  • A quote
  • A brief tale
  • A synopsis
  • An astonishing statistic or information

Don’t use stereotypes:

  • A question
  • A quote

Don’t stress yourself about writing a hook that requires a lot of creativeness and enthusiasm. Your first sentence should direct your reader towards the problem or question you intend to address and provide an idea of what will be discussed ahead.

Also Read: How to Start an Essay

Example of How to Engage Readers in Essay Introduction

The below example shows how the first sentence starts the essay in a compact but powerful way:

This essay aims to understand the developments in machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the understanding of facts and myths about artificial intelligence.

This sentence pays attention to the topic’s significance, providing a general idea on which the essay is going to revolve around without showing more information than required.

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Step 2: Provide Background Information in Essay Introduction

Provide background information that your readers need to know about the essay topic to understand the argument better. Here is what this section would typically include;

  • Providing information about its history, geography, or social context
  • Explanations of Jargons
  • A precis of current scholarly articles and theories

This information needs to provide a broader context but should be relevant to the scope of your essay. Don’t overextend the topic that you won’t leave any information, especially evidence and interpretation for the main body.

Discuss the points which are related to the topic and don’t keep the introduction off the track.

You need to figure out how much space you will consume for the background while writing an essay introduction, depending on your essay’s word count requirement.

The example below has been taken from a length essay, and the writer used a couple of paragraphs to present the background information.

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Example of Background Information in Essay Introduction

Step 3: Briefly Describe the Purpose and Statement

This section involves a thesis statement for the essay, which provides the crux of the whole discussion. This is the most vital part of the essay introduction section, which sets the boundaries for your essay, telling the reader what will be discussed next.

The thesis statement acts as the basis for writing an essay introduction and often transforms into an argument for and against a particular positionIt is just like a nucleus around which the whole essay will be discussed.

Here is an example of how to establish a purpose and position in an essay:

Example of Purpose and Statement in Essay Introduction

 

Also, Read Useful essay words and phrases.

Step 4: Proofread and Brush Up

As you make your way towards more research on the topic, you might learn new facts and gain new insights. If you have found new information that could potentially change your work’s direction, you might want to include that in your essay introduction.

Therefore, most academicians and scholars agree with the idea that an essay introduction should be written at last.

It doesn’t matter whether you start your essay with an introduction or the main body. It is vitally important to check and revise the introduction section to ensure it is in context and relevant to the essay.

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About Grace Graffin

Avatar for Grace Graffin"Grace has a bachelor's and a master's degree from Loughborough University, so she's an expert at writing a flawless essay. She has worked as a professional writer and editor, helping students of at all academic levels to improve their academic writing skills."